How to achieve interoperability in buildings?

How can we achieve interoperability while putting people at the heart of it all? How can we make sense of all the existing protocols? How can we take advantage of open standards in the buildings of today and tomorrow?

Yesterday, we gathered in the center of Geneva, and were warmly welcomed by Citizn coworking to discuss the subject of interoperability and open standards in buildings.

It was -10 outside, and the conversation obviously started with a discussion on heating systems that are more or less well controlled, more or less efficient, more or less polluting - it was topical!

After an initial round of introductions, Thierry Colignon gave us a historical perspective on interoperability, explained the 3-layer approach (Cloud, Building Infrastructure, Equipment), the importance of putting the user at the center, responsible management and digital security, and shared with us an overview of existing communication networks and protocols used in connected objects and buildings, and how they enable the implementation of existing solutions. In conclusion, Thierry shared with us his vision of interoperability.

Marjorie Rojas Rincon, from Plusinn / Proietti, then presented the opportunities and benefits of a connected ecosystem, the mechanisms of different brands, applications and services. Marjorie also stressed the importance of good space management, the possibilities offered by smart styling and automation, illustrating the usefulness of optimizing efficiency and effectiveness. Following his presentation, we were able to begin to distinguish between what is in the realm of "gadgetry" and what brings a real improvement in terms of comfort and well-being. This opens up new horizons, new approaches, new applications and new service platforms. In short, new opportunities, especially for startups in the IOT / Smart Building / Blockchain / PropTech ecosystem.

We emphasized the importance of integrating interactive design, lighting and multimedia, to create unique ambiences, and highlighted the usefulness of technologies using open standards and open innovation to enable data aggregation in intelligent supervision systems. He also presented the possibilities offered by multi-property networks (owned or managed, e.g. for several villas, hotels, commercial buildings, yachts or jets), and the growing importance of data security.

During the discussion that followed, we were able to share our ideas with the entrepreneurs, intellectual property advisers, consultants and start-ups present, on how to put the human element (the user, the smart citizen, the regular occupant or the occasional visitor) at the heart of the concerns of the managers and operators of shared spaces where everyone should enjoy living.