PepperDash President/CEO Howard Nunes

BMW's latest touring motorcycles have headlights that look around the corner for you, as you lean into a turn. They call it "adaptive" technology.  Seems like a completely obvious idea, doesn't it?  So why has it taken so long to show up on a production motorcycle? 

We are facing a similar question regarding our "built environments" today.  How can we make buildings adaptive, so they understand what we are trying to do while we go about working, learning and living inside of them?  Simple stuff, like automatic door openers, have been around for years.  They are a major convenience item, and they reduce energy costs. Everyone wins.  But big systems have struggled to become adaptive. My favorite symbol of this is the ubiquitous locked thermostat cover....

DO NOT TOUCH!!!

So what are we in the AV business doing to create and promote adaptive technology?  Convenience, safety and energy costs are big issues for everyone, and are driving some big market trends.  InfoComm has been looking into ways that the AV industry can take advantage of these trends. It even commissioned a study on this topic, which showed large opportunities for the AV industry.

Several recent InfoComm efforts have focused on improving energy efficiency and sustainability throughout the AV project life cycle, and many new standards will result.  But this year, something really interesting is afoot. The InfoComm Board of Directors has commissioned an Integrated Building Technologies (IBT) Task Force to look at ways we can use technology to adapt building systems to the way people used their space, ways we can "humanize" our built environments.

The IBT Task Force includes people from many industries, interests and organizations, in a truly broad-scale effort to understand the opportunities and effects of such a trend. Integrating building management systems, enterprise scheduling, lighting and AV control with comprehensive sensors and predictive software will make our buildings truly sentient and fully adaptive to our needs. 

For our part, we are investing in predictive software called Sentegy®, because we believe buildings should think for themselves. For more info, please go to our web site. 

See you in Orlando!