IoT and Smart Homes have multiple applications in the Indian market

Dr. Narendra Bhat, Founder & President of BuildTrack, a Smart Automation Building Management Systems (BMS) company, explains how smart technology can be applied homes, hotels, hospitals, enterprises and even in the rural market.

What is the status of smart automation and IoT in India and which are the sectors that are proving to be the early adopters?

Smart Automation and Internet of Things are both technologies that are rapidly gaining acceptance in the Indian market place, especially with the rapid rise in the number of mobile devices with Internet access. These technologies are being deployed in situations where control of electrical devices and monitoring of sensors is required especially from remote locations and over smart apps using devices such as smart phones and tablets.

Both the control and monitoring are used typically to deliver benefits in the areas of—

• Safety: Through alerts for smoke and fire, cooking gas leaks, Carbon Dioxide levels.
• Security: Door intrusion, window glass break-ins, motion sensing.
• Comfort: Control of lights, fans, ACs.
• Conveniences: Control of TVs, media devices, curtains and blinds.
• Energy Efficiency: Automated shut-offs based on occupancy or pre-set schedules for all energy consuming devices like lights, ACs. Monitoring of energy consumption via Smart Energy Meters.
• Operational Efficiency: Centralized control or monitoring of all assets in a building such as motors, pumps, elevators, water tank levels, fire panels, fire pump pressure etc.

BuildTrack’s experience across India in both metros and smaller cities suggest that the key sectors in which there is uptake solutions include Home Automation, Guest Room Automation and Work Management in Hotels, Building Management Systems for Commercial Buildings, Energy Efficiency Systems in Offices and Nurse Call Systems in Hospitals and Senior Living

What is the difference in implementation strategies in the home and enterprise domains?

The differences between home and enterprise may be more visible in terms of the nature of usage, rather than the deployment itself. In both situations there are the same products that enable the automation, i.e. gateways that connect and listen to nodes and sensors, with the nodes usually located behind switch panels and connected to the switches and the sensors being distributed across spaces as per their application. The gateway also connects to the internet or to a local network, depending on the need of the home or office owner to access the control and monitoring when away from the premises. The control is usually for lights, fans, ACs, curtains/blinds, in both situations, but in homes it can extend to TVs, STBs and media devices.

The implementation strategies are different based more so on the nature of the solution being wired, wireless or hybrid. This is dictated by whether a new building/renovation where wiring and civil work are underway or a retrofit situation where neither are possible. The size of the campus or facility (or home) can also make a difference in the choice of deployment. In the case of wired solutions, the conduit locations must be determined, whereas in the case of wireless the availability of signal strength and the location of the routers make a difference to the implementations.

Can you comment on your Energy Efficiency and Building Management Systems (BMS)?

BuildTrack’s Energy Efficiency systems are usually in the form of wireless sensors that communicate to and control lights, fans or ACs. This control is facilitated through nodes that are connected to these devices, and to which the sensor communicates to either turn these devices off or on as the occupancy of the space being monitored changes. These can be deployed in aisles, cabins, bathrooms, pantries, conference rooms, stairwells, parking areas and more to conserve energy. They operate autonomously without needing access to a network or needing Apps etc. Our various systems and solutions have twice been awarded by CII with the ‘Most Innovative Energy Efficiency Solutions’ within the last 4 years.

Building Management Systems on the other hand, work by actively controlling, monitoring or scheduling the various devices or sensors in the building. These could be motors, pumps, elevators, security barriers and other such devices. The sensors can be smoke, gas leak, intrusion, laser perimeter monitoring, air quality and other such. Cameras and network video recorders can also be integrated to BMS systems to provide a single point of control that enables management of all devices in a building. The use of Internet of Technology solutions in this area, by BuildTrack is unique in the world and has also been recognized by a prestigious award from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in 2018.

Can you tell us about your wireless, wired plus hybrid solutions and when which is required?

BuildTrack’s wireless solutions are mostly intended for retrofit situations where any type of electrical or civil work is not possible. The nodes used for control are sized to fit, invisibly, behind any of the existing switch panels, even as small as a single switch panel. The sensors are also wireless. The gateway can also connect wirelessly to a router, thereby enabling a complete wireless deployment for finished homes, hotels, offices etc.

The wired solution by contrast has a single thin cable that loops through the property and is used by the gateway to communicate with the nodes. The nodes for wired and wireless situations are similar in size and capability. Wired solutions are ideal for new and spaces being renovated. There is more reliability in wired solutions as they are not dependent on wireless signal strength that can be influenced by outside issues.

Can you comment on some of your successful implementations and their uniqueness?

In the areas of Home Automation, we serve many builders such as Lokhandwala, Kalpataru, Puranik and Godrej for entire buildings. We also serve multitude of individual homes ranging in size from small 1 BHK to mansions which have over a dozen bedrooms.

Our systems also are deployed to serve as the Building Management System for ‘The 42’ which is the tallest building in India, and we enable it to also be one of the smartest through the deployment of our solutions.

In the areas of enterprise, we have served companies such as Jaguar Lighting where several of their customer orientation centers across India are using our IoT technology and our Smart Apps to delight the customer, when they are present in them. We also serve companies like Bridgestone, Mazagaon Docks, GM, and Ramada Hotels.

How much of a role does AI play in your solutions and what are the expected future breakthroughs?

Currently AI plays a role in our solutions in checking on the health of our IoT systems that are operational. We anticipate expanding this to serve other predictive maintenance needs for many essential assets and electrical devices used in homes and enterprises.

More so than AI which is still nascent, the use of voice technologies from Amazon and Google, and integration with these solutions is creating new areas of breakthrough. These are rapidly gaining interest and popularity in Home Automation, Hotel Guest Room Automation and also in Hospital Rooms.

Can the rural market and villages adopt IoT solutions? How can the government play a big role in that?

In the rural markets, IoT can play a solution primarily to serve in the areas of safety, security, energy efficiency and even agricultural productivity. Sensors can be used for most of these instances to serve a number of these needs, even without the use of Internet, through local networking with the nodes, these sensors can trigger equipment. For instance, soil sensors can monitor water levels and trigger pumps, motion sensors can trigger security alarms in homes or storage locations. The government can provide training on how these technologies work, and train young graduates to install them so that there is the potential that local businesses can deploy, maintain and also create solutions that can serve their communities well.