AutomatedBuildings.com Editorial

September - Building Better Bots Mindful and Open

We have Open Software, Open Hardware; we just need to Open our Minds to Mindfully Build Better Bots.

On our journey to people-powered buildings described in my never-ending stories, I have talked about "Building Whisperers" and "Building Better Building Bots" and in our September issue we conclude that the most important component of the open movement is opening our minds while growing younger.

I have been talking about voice as a game changer, but the focus now moves self-learning machine vision as the newest cost effective edge bot capability.

Those that well understand what I am talking about are younger, we all need to grow younger to understand. We all need to engage with their digitally raised thoughts to help us understand new ways of thinking and doing old things. The complete industry needs to grow younger while engaging in the discussion of digital disruption.

It is happening and the only thing slowing, and sometimes preventing the necessary radical change, is our existing mindset and fear of the unknown. Yet daily we take giant leaps of faith towards digital transformation in our personal lives.

To add action to my words, AutomatedBuildings.com is very pleased to introduce this amazing panel of under forty-year-olds for this new first ever DIY Open free education session in Atlanta. A very interesting perspective on our future by those now creating it.

Next Generation HVAC Controls: Open Hardware – Open Software.

Session Description Truly open hardware and software is common in many industries but has only made relatively small inroads in the world of building automation where proprietary solutions still reign supreme. Open standards like BACnet enabled a revolution in open communications, but the vast majority of building automation software and hardware is still closed.

“The mass marketing of powerful micro PCs such as the Raspberry Pi brings low-cost computing power to technical professionals and hobbyists alike. Suitable for most field installations, they also provide an excellent training and experimental platform for individuals interested in controls and automation. Coupled with an open protocol in BACnet and an open programming language in Sedona, it only takes the imagination of the systems integrator to define the next generation controller.”

There is a need to have low-cost access to BAS data to help engineers with building optimization. Having open source software with the core functionality we need has proven to be a more cost-effective and durable solution to our problems. This is a game changer for our industry, and we’re only starting to see how embracing open source can lead to a tremendous boost in innovation, especially among those organizations with only modest resources at their disposal.

The panel members have provided articles to help open your minds to understand new ways of thinking about doing old things. Their articles are listed below and promise an interesting session.

Building Better Bots with Machine Vision "Your Building Control is watching you" ......mindfully. Creating tomorrow today with Open Software, Open Hardware, and Open Minds - Calvin Slater

Sharing of Custom Sedona Kits, Components and Tools This makes programming quicker and certainly easier as components are enhanced, become more powerful, and offer completely new capabilities to users. - Zach Netsov

More exciting news from the Eclipse Volttron Workshop 2018 The big news is that the project will be managed by the Eclipse Foundation. - Nigel David, BSc, MSc, PhD, Lead Researcher, SES Consulting Inc.

Energy controls platform available in open source PNNL technology is now part of the Eclipse Foundation. VOLTTRON can be launched from inexpensive, small-scale computers.

Open Software, Open Hardware; we just need to Open our Minds while growing younger to understand our future.

As always this new issue is a nest of great articles, columns, reviews, new products, interviews and of course the steady stream of news depicting our rapid evolution and journey to "Open Minds."

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The news just keeps flowing thru our website, and RSS feeds daily, and of course, the only way to find what you are looking for in the vast quantity of information on our site is with our site search engine http://www.automatedbuildings.com/search/sitesearch.htm

As always lots of new products, plus be sure to check our event calendar to see the number of events we have in our future.

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