In collaboration with Bentley Systems and Schneider Electric, Microsoft has rolled out a digital twin of its new regional headquarters at Frasers Tower in Singapore, offering a living blueprint for the future of smart buildings.
“The workplace of the future is about embracing innovation into the very fabric of our space, so that we create multiple touchpoints of connectivity, are intentionally inclusive and accessible, while being very mindful of sustainability and the environment. At Frasers Tower in Singapore, we worked closely with Bentley Systems and Schneider Electric to implement sensors and telemetry to create a connected workplace, that allows us to adjust the space based on usage, therefore improving energy efficiency,” said Ricky Kapur, VP for Sales, Marketing and Operations for Microsoft in Asia Pacific.
Saving Costs and Improving Productivity with Digital Twins
At the Microsoft offices in Frasers Tower, data is collected using a mix of 179 Bluetooth beacons in meeting rooms and 900 sensors for lighting, air quality and temperature by Schneider Electric. The platform generates nearly 2,100 data points, that are connected to the cloud on Microsoft Azure, enabling the holistic management of the environment.
The sensors enable monitoring of facilities usage, energy and utilities. They optimise space utilization, air conditioning and lighting adjustments. All these provide a comfortable and productive space for employees while increasing overall energy efficiency. Open, interoperable technology also allows activity detection enabled lighting and room sensors to reflect room bookings on the Microsoft’s Smart Building CampusLink app.
The sensors could potentially also monitor carbon dioxide levels in the air that negatively affect work performance and neural activity, noise levels and energy usage, which can result in savings of up to 25%, as experienced at Microsoft’s Headquarters located in Redmond, Washington.
“Smart sensors allow us to collect meaningful data in real time, which enables us to optimize various aspects of our spaces, making them more comfortable, while reducing energy consumption in a sustainable and economical manner. Our partnership with Microsoft offers a real model on how connected devices combined with contextualized sensor processing can deliver smart building systems that do not intrude on the privacy of individuals, and can be applied beyond offices, to buildings, malls and even homes of the future,” shared Damien Dhellemmes, Cluster President, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Schneider Electric.
Sustainability and inclusivity
In a world where we can expect more than 40 billion devices generating nearly 80 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025, organisations and industries will need to adopt new technologies and build capabilities that will enable them to flourish in an innovation-led, cloud-first, artificial intelligence focused future.
Asia Pacific is one of the fastest-growing regions for Microsoft, which has created a blueprint for organisations to adopt the culture, physical spaces and technologies for a future-ready workplace. Spread across 12,500 sq. meters and six floors, the new Microsoft office at Frasers Tower brings 1,400 people together in an environment that allows the digital and physical worlds to exist in harmony.