• News

• 26/11/2015

Building automation will take centre stage at ISE 2014 when Dr Dirk Schlesinger, global lead for manufacturing industries of Cisco Consulting Services, presents the opening keynote address on February 3, 2014.

Schlesinger will deliver a speech titled ‘Kick-Starting the Market for Building Automation’ at 6pm in the Forum of the Amsterdam RAI exhibition centre ahead of the three day show.

Attendees are expected to gain an insight into how a new cross-industry initiative set up by Cisco, ABB, Bosch and LG will offer a common standard for data exchange across multiple appliances and disciplines.

“In October 2013, Cisco, ABB, Bosch and LG signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of a common, open and discrimination-free platform to unite diverse services such as lighting control, energy management, security, healthcare and, not least, audiovisual entertainment and communication,” Schlesinger said.

“In my Opening Keynote Address at ISE 2014, I will explain how this platform will enable new business models, giving equipment manufacturers, software developers, service providers, systems integrators and other businesses in the ecosystem the tools they need to kick-start the market for home and building automation.”

Existing protocols will be used wherever possible. Once the operating company for the platform has been incorporated, the aim is that compatible appliances will communicate with each other over radio networks such as WiFi and Zigbee, and over other wired connections such as KNX.

‘Customer premise equipment’ within a building would then manage all the individual appliances and create a secure internet link to cloud-based services, with any unit being able to perform this function, regardless of manufacturer, provided it runs on software that satisfies the relevant standard.

Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events, said: “While the emphasis is on promoting interoperability in the smart home, it’s clear that this initiative will have applications in commercial buildings as well.

“The initiative’s timeline calls for an EU-wide launch in mid-2015, with the platform being made available to developers during 2014. ISE’s Opening Keynote Address will be the first occasion on which the business model is outlined in detail in front of an international B2B audience.”