Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft has created a digital twin of regional headquarters at Frasers Tower in Singapore, providing a smart building blueprint following collaboration with Bentley Systems and Schneider Electric.
Designed to showcase new ways of working, data is collected using a mix of 179 Bluetooth beacons in meeting rooms, as well as 900 sensors for lighting, air quality and temperature delivered by Schneider Electric.
Generating nearly 2100 data points, which are connected to the cloud via Microsoft Azure, the platform was created to enable "holistic management" of the environment, in addition to monitoring facilities usage, energy and utilities.
Alongside optimising space utilisation, air conditioning and lighting adjustments - as well as increasing overall energy efficiency - the technology also allows activity detection enabled lighting and room sensors to reflect room bookings on the Microsoft’s Smart Building CampusLink app.
“The workplace of the future is about embracing innovation into the very fabric of our space, so that we create multiple touch points of connectivity, are intentionally inclusive and accessible, while being very mindful of sustainability and the environment,” said Ricky Kapur, vice president of Sales, Marketing and Operations across Asia Pacific at Microsoft.
“At Frasers Tower in Singapore, we worked closely with Bentley Systems and Schneider Electric to implement sensors and telemetry to create a connected workplace, that allows us to adjust the space based on usage, therefore improving energy efficiency.”
Employees and staff are using Smart Building CampusLink - an application that is fully integrated with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office 365 - to find directions, determine room occupancy and book facilities in real-time.
Built on Azure App Services and powered by Azure Data Lake and Office 365 Graph API, Microsoft’s regional headquarters in Asia Pacific is the first Microsoft office outside of Redmond, Washington to implement Smart Building CampusLink.
According to Kapur, the sensors could potentially also monitor carbon dioxide levels in the air that negatively affect work performance and neural activity, noise levels and energy usage, which can result in savings of up to 25 per cent, as experienced at the vendor's global headquarters.
“Smart sensors allow us to collect meaningful data in real time, which enables us to optimise various aspects of our spaces, making them more comfortable, while reducing energy consumption in a sustainable and economical manner,” added Damien Dhellemmes, president of Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei at Schneider Electric.
“Our partnership with Microsoft offers a real model on how connected devices combined with contextualised sensor processing can deliver smart building systems that do not intrude on the privacy of individuals, and can be applied beyond offices, to buildings, malls and even homes of the future.”
Delving deeper, data from the sensors enable the "virtual replication of the physical world" by modelling the relationships between people, places and devices through a spatial intelligence graph, with the operational insights achieved allowing for management and measurement.
Developed and implemented in partnership with independent software vendor (ISV) Bentley Systems, the digital twin leverages artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and productivity tools.
“Digital twins are redefining how we manage infrastructure, from individual equipment installations to large facilities and entire cities,” said Kaushik Chakraborty, vice president and regional executive of Asia South at Bentley Systems.
“While smart buildings were developed to better manage energy consumption, we have come to realise additional strategic roles of dynamically allocating space, increasing utilisation, reducing costs, improving competitiveness, and enhancing collaboration and productivity.
“With Bentley’s OpenCities Planner and Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and Power BI, we have developed a virtual digital twin model of their regional headquarters in Singapore, correlating the data collected across the digital and physical worlds to build domain-specific solutions and unlock new efficiencies, improvements, and opportunities for the modern workplace.”
Spanning 12,500 square metres and six floors, the new Microsoft office at Frasers Tower houses more than 1400 employees.
