EMAIL INTERVIEW – Andy McMillan and Ken Sinclair

BACnet International launched BRITE, which stands for BACnet Remote Interoperability Test Environment

Andy McMillan is President and Managing Director of BACnet International, where he works with users and suppliers to expand and enhance the BACnet community. Previously he served as President of a building automation and energy management business unit of Philips Lighting. Andy has been an invited speaker on BACnet and open systems at conferences around the world. He has been awarded a dozen patents, has co-authored a book on data communications and his background includes BSEE and MBA degrees.

Hi Andy!  There’s been a lot of talk lately about BACnet Secure Connect (BACnet/SC). We conducted an interview with you about BACnet International’s “BACnet/SC Interoperability Acceleration Program” back in February 2020 but we hear there’s a new test environment and have a couple of questions we would like to ask you about that.

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Sinclair - First of all, what is this new test environment?

McMillan  - BACnet International launched BRITE, which stands for BACnet Remote Interoperability Test Environment, last month (February 2021). BRITE is a confidential, supplier-independent environment where participants can set up test sessions to evaluate the interoperability of their BACnet devices with other manufacturers without physical co-location. This means each test participant can work in their own corporate development lab with access to all of their in-house tools and staff.

Sinclair - Why did you create BRITE?

McMillan  - Security is a critical piece in the networking of building technologies (Building Internet of Things – BIoT) as the industry embraces connected buildings and Smart Cities. The release of BACnet/SC is a great step but we know that most manufacturers have an uphill climb in not only learning about BACnet/SC but implementing it. That’s why, in February 2020, we launched the BACnet/SC Interoperability Acceleration Program, which, through educational webinars and development of a system reference implementation and system test bench toolkit, equips building automation system suppliers with the knowledge and skills necessary to incorporate BACnet/SC. BRITE is the next step in that process where we facilitate interoperability testing among suppliers so they know they are implementing BACnet/SC correctly.

Sinclair - How does BRITE work?

McMillan  - BRITE is built around a collection of cloud based BACnet/SC hubs along with interoperability support and diagnostic tools. Interested parties, once they join BRITE, have access to a list of other subscribers interested in peer-to-peer interoperability testing. When two, or more, parties agree on a preferred date and time they can schedule their session with BACnet International.  Each session is private, only allowing access to the specific suppliers participating in that test session.  A developer may test against their own product, another developer’s product or multiple other products.

Sinclair - Who can join BRITE?

McMillan  - Any supplier interested in testing their BACnet devices can join.

Sinclair - What does the program cost?

McMillan  - BRITE subscriptions are free for BACnet International corporate members throughout 2021.  

Sinclair - How can suppliers interested in BRITE find out more information?

McMillan  - More information can be found at bacnetinternational.org/brite.

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