Appendix to the press release
Blieskastel, 2nd April 2015
Guided Autonomic Building:
Building control systems interact intelligently to increase energy efficiency, comfort and security
German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy awards research project contract to innovation network of automation providers, technology firms, energy-efficient building providers and researchers as part of the future-oriented Industry 4.0 project.
Hager Group is joined by seven other partners in the consortium: Scheer Group companies Scheer Management GmbH, Interactive Software Solutions GmbH and IS Predict GmbH, as well as QBUS Holding (part of OBG Group), the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Institute for Communication Technology at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The application for the Guided Autonomic Building (Guided AB) research project was a collaborative effort between the members. The consortium is led by Hager Group. Guided AB is in keeping with objectives of the Industry 4.0 project initiated by the federal government of Germany.
Guided AB aims to bring about considerable improvements to the energy efficiency, utility and user acceptance of autonomic buildings through intelligent and easily adaptable building controls, the introduction of standardised open-access interfaces, the integration of modern web technologies in automation solutions and the implementation of new, interactive 3D operating concepts.
The project centres around a platform designed to provide services and assistance for autonomic, networked and resource-efficient residential buildings (“smart buildings”). This platform is intended to be operated by users on location in real time and configured in the cloud using mobile apps, as well as to be controlled by service providers. The aim is to ensure personalised integration of services and users to the maximum degree.
There are very limited opportunities for users themselves to gain access to the systems currently available on the market, and in the vast majority of cases only system experts are able to configure them. This is another reason why homes need intelligent, self-learning systems which autonomously execute the appropriate processes to configure and control heating, air conditioning, lighting, surveillance and multimedia systems while simultaneously giving users more opportunities to influence their living environment.
With Guided AB, anyone will be able to set up and configure the systems used in different scenarios. With just the touch of a finger, users can draw the blinds, start up a television programme, dim the lights and programme a range of other functions that would previously have required them to call a specialist for help.
The consortium partners in detail
Scheer Group has been contributing its expertise to Guided AB through three of its companies: IS Predict, which develops algorithms for pattern recognition, Interactive Software Solutions, which provides appropriate service solutions, and Scheer Management, the firm responsible for drafting the concepts. Hager Group is the expert for electrical engineering in the consortium, while QBUS Holding (part of OBG Group) provides construction industry know-how and contributes the expertise of the QBUS companies to develop application scenarios for the future users of the new technologies. The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the Institute for Communication Technology at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts ensure that the project is scientifically supported by trusted research partners. The consortium has also enlisted the consulting services of Mannheim’s Wowikom Group. The service provider from the housing sector is responsible for analysing and communicating the expectations of the market.
“Our project concept gave us the edge against 100 other applicants in the Industry 4.0 project from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, as we are breaking new ground. One of the significant aspects of our solution is the shift from hardware to software orientation. This translates into a much greater degree of flexibility for users,” says Johannes Hauck from the Corporate Strategy and Business Development division.
Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer: “I am confident that the results of our project will not only generate immediate solutions for new construction projects and existing properties, but they will also provide an impetus for further scientific application of the findings. Guided AB will help us make properties more energy-efficient and also more comfortable. For example, it will enable older people and those in need of help to continue living independently in their home environment without having to draw on outside assistance.”
Dr Hilko Hoffmann, DFKI: “Integrating interactive 3D Web technologies, modern app concepts and mobile devices paves the way for completely new forms of interaction with intelligent buildings. The new user interfaces will significantly increase users’ acceptance and understanding of the intelligent use of autonomic buildings, significantly increasing the potential for greater efficiency as a result. From a research perspective, this will generate a fresh impetus for further investigations and developments designed to enhance the transparency, security and simplicity of operating technically complex buildings – even for non-specialists.”
Professor Ingo Kunold: “Flexible IP systems, distributed according to the respective building structures, interact with intelligent software modules and professional field bus systems in buildings and offer a new kind of user interface, providing clear, simple operation and information for the user – for example, to enable them to control their living environment and increase its energy efficiency. These systems and the appropriate interfaces open up a myriad of possibilities for web-based applications and mobile apps designed to provide smart services for operating buildings and enhance user comfort. The Guided AB system also enables building status information required for operation purposes to be systematically recorded and new R&D concepts to be developed for the purposes of connecting and optimising this information.”
About Hager Group
Hager was founded in Ensheim, Saarland, in 1955. The company is now a leading supplier of solutions and services for electrical installations in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Our range of solutions and services extends from energy distribution to cable management and from security systems to building automation.
As an independent family-owned and family-run company based in Blieskastel, Germany, Hager Group is one of the industry’s innovation leaders. A total of 11,400 employees generate a turnover of about 1.7 billion euros. Components and solutions are produced at 23 sites around the globe and are trusted by customers in more than 95 countries worldwide. Our success is owed to the trust our customers have placed in us.
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Contact
Johannes Hauck
Hager Electro GmbH & Co. KG
Zum Gunterstal
66440 Blieskastel
Germany
Tel.+49 (0)6842 9454 253
Mobile+49 (0)175 5734 922
About the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH (DFKI)
The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, with sites in Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken and Bremen (with an associated branch in Osnabrück) as well as a project office in Berlin, is Germany’s leading research institute in the field of innovative software technology. The DFKI ranks among the most important “centres of excellence” in the international scientific community. It is currently the world’s biggest research centre in the field of artificial intelligence and its application in terms of number of employees and the volume of external funds. The financial budget in 2012 was approximately 36 million euros. DFKI projects encompass the entire spectrum, from application-oriented basic research to the development of product functions based on market and customer needs. At present, over 400 employees from 60 countries are conducting research on software solutions focusing on knowledge management, cyber-physical systems, the Robotics Innovation Center, the Innovative Retail Laboratory, the Institute for Information Systems, embedded intelligence, agents and simulated reality, augmented reality, language technology, intelligent user interfaces and innovative factory systems. This has resulted in more than 60 professorships held by former DFKI employees and 60 spin-off companies providing approximately 1,700 highly qualified jobs.
Contact
Dr Hilko Hoffmann
Research Department for Agents and Simulated Reality
German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence GmbH (DFKI)
Campus D3 2
66123 Saarbrücken
Germany
Tel.+49 (0)681 857 757 742
About the Wowikom Group
Based in Mannheim, Germany, the Wowikom Group has over 15 years of experience in advising companies from the housing sector and developing models to optimise factors that affect operating costs. In addition to energy and media supply, billing services, lift maintenance and legionella testing, the Wowikom Group also offers services in other areas and links these individual elements with the objective of lowering operating costs and increasing the quality of living conditions. Customers of the Wowikom Group include property management firms, housing associations and investors throughout Germany.
Contact
Wowikom Consulting GmbH
Christian Müller
Managing Director
Hans-Thoma-Str. 21
68163 Mannheim
Germany
Tel.+49 (0)621 4226 040
Mobile+49 (0)171 8652 556
Fax+49 (0)621 4226 099
The Institute for Communication Technology (ICT) at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts was founded in 2001 and has been headed by Professor Ingo Kunold ever since. The institute is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia expertise platform for communication technology and applied signal processing. The R & D focus at the organisation is on intelligent, real-time, Web-based systems, services and protocols; digital signal processing and archiving with embedded systems; digital measured-value and signal analysis; digital filtering and equalisation of transmission channels; and distributed, database-supported Web applications. Its research is applied in fields such as audio technology and telecommunications, as well as in energy information and control systems for smart grids, smart buildings and smart metering networks. The ICT is the institute responsible for teaching communication technology and remote data transmission processing with distributed systems in bachelor’s and master’s courses in IT and electrical engineering at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Contact
Professor Ingo Kunold
Dortmund Institute for Communication Technology
NRW Center of Communications and Applied Signal Processing
Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Sonnenstrasse 96
44047 Dortmund
Germany
Tel.+49 (0)231 9112 352
Fax+49 (0)231 9112 615
The OBG group
The OBG group of today developed from the core of Ottweiler Baugesellschaft, which was founded in 1963.
The OBG group pools the proven construction expertise and state-of-the-art building technology of the renowned company OBG AG with the competence and ingenuity on the subject of efficient properties provided by the innovative companies from the young QBUS Holding GmbH & Co. KG. All the companies are based in Saarland and provide their services predominantly in south-west Germany and Luxembourg. Today, the OBG group is a highly effective one-stop provider of solutions, with a workforce of around 700 employees and an annual building output equating to approximately 150 million euros.
Contact
Helmut Kruppke
OBG Gruppe GmbH
Illinger Str. 150
66564 Ottweiler
Germany
Tel.+49 (0)6824 3000 3012
About Scheer Group GmbH
The Scheer Group supports and manages the combined expertise of innovative and technology-oriented companies within a single network.
August-Wilhelm Scheer, professor of business information systems, inventor of the ARIS concept and successful entrepreneur, founded Scheer Group GmbH as a network of high-growth IT companies. High quality, innovation and a clear focus on customer value are what characterise their products and services. The close cooperation with science and research professionals enhances the level of innovation in the individual companies and opens up new markets. As the sole shareholder of the Scheer Group, August-Wilhelm Scheer owns significant shares in the network companies while also emphasising the entrepreneurial potential of start-up management.
The following Scheer Group companies are involved in the Guided AB project:
/ Business process management, consulting and innovative solutions
/ Engineering and IT solutions for integrating products and services
/ Self-learning and forward-looking software solutions for increasing the efficiency of resources
Contact
Irmhild Plaetrich
I.C.E.-Kommunikationsberatung
Tel.+49 (0)172 6868 561
Fax+49 (0)681 9351 1100
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Legal form: Societas Europaea
Head office: Blieskastel
Public register: Saarbrücken HRB16434
Management Board: Daniel Hager (Chairman), Philippe Ferragu, Bertrand Schmitt