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Customer application 14 December 2021

The “Internet of Things” Gains a Foothold in Buildings

With the opening of the “Cisco openBerlin Innovation Center,” the global leader in Internet and network solutions is writing a new chapter in building technology. In less than one year, a factory located on the EUREF Campus in Schöneberg, Berlin has been transformed into a “lifestyle workspace,” which provides Cisco with an unparalleled idea factory and innovation platform for the “Internet of Things” (IoT). Implementing the project required partners invested in innovation. These include HOSCH Gebäudeautomation in cooperation with WAGO, the IoT specialist relayr and many other start-up companies.

The captivating impression the Cisco Innovation Center building makes is due to its very special charm. Built in the early 20th century, the vintage industrial brick building has a warm and inviting appearance, looking more like headquarters of a start-up than of a global IT corporation. This impression is intentional and part of a well thought out strategy. “Our focus was not on the building technology as such; instead, we asked ourselves about the people who work here, what they need to feel comfortable and to give their creativity free rein,” explains Mitko Vasilev, co-founder and CTO of openBerlin.

IoT forms the center of openBerlin, which focuses on manufacturing, transportation and logistics. With this project, Cisco is creating an open platform for partners, start-ups and other enterprises, in order to accelerate development on a global level. For this reason, the idea factory was conceived as an open structure and equipped with approximately 100 workstations. Cisco wants to attract researchers, developers and representatives from leading institutions, customers and partner firms, like azeti, Bosch and Intel, to collaborate on innovative IoT solutions.

Cisco Innovation Center:

  • BACnet/IP Backbone
  • Building Management Systems Become Obsolete
  • A Data Pool of Inexhaustible Possibilities
  • The Newest, Most Up-to-Date Open System

BACnet/IP Backbone

Production in the former factory on the premises of Berlin Gasometer did not shut down till 2014, so the timeframe for the project was quite ambitious. In order to create a showpiece for the “Internet of Things,” Cisco also set the technological bar extremely high. This included equipping the space – around 1,000 m2 – with more than 10,000 sensors and high-tech communication units to capture the most detailed information about current conditions, as well as movements and locations of people within the building. The data collection ranges from information on lighting and climate conditions, to facial recognition, to smart watches.

When selecting technologies for the building, open source standards and communication ability were considered most important. The team only had three months to plan and install the building automation technology. For the IP-based aspects, Cisco turned to relayr, a Berlin-based IoT specialist company. The system integration specialist, HOSCH Gebäudeautomation from Teltow, and its technology partner, WAGO from Minden, provided the designs and implemented the building technology. WAGO’s CoDeSys-programmable BACnet/IP fieldbus controller (750-831) is the core of the system. As the link between the IP-based sensors and conventional building technology, it controls room automation and lighting technology.

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