Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword or a central theme of sci-fi movies. Smart buildings, intelligent offices and artificial intelligence are all emerging as new paradigms for interaction between people, places and things.
Throughout known human history, our relationship and interaction with technology have been largely one-sided. We gave inputs and they gave the output – you switched on the light, and the bulb got on. You clicked a button and the printer produced a printed paper. This equation has changed to a dual even multi-dimensional relationship, where technology is talking back to us through suggestions, and decisions of its own. Also between themselves through the internet of things.
Artificial intelligence and ambient control:
One aspect of artificial intelligence in spatial (home, office and industrial) technology is the existence of embedded systems of how they are present on their own and operate without our interference. These features are called ambient systems. Think of robot-operated cafes and hotels where you do not even have to give the machine’s instructions. They note your entry or the order placed and act accordingly. Or in office spaces, it senses if a meeting room is empty and recommends it to someone who has a meeting scheduled on their outlook.
As tech sees, hears and feels us more and more our relationship with artificial intelligence has grown leaps and bounds. From co-dependence to independence, to even flip independence we have seen use cases of it all, says an executive from a home security system technology company in Hyderabad.
Here are five areas where ambient control in artificial intelligence is taking off in a big way.
Facial control-based security systems:
Many facial recognition systems are offering security through access control. Machine learning and data analytics are so strong that they identify people in different clothing and sometimes in low lighting too. It is also used in police stations, airports and public places to identify and track potential suspects or criminals. The algorithms are simple and
Facility management systems:
Facility management systems have benefitted immensely from Artificial intelligence. They have emerged into independent decision-making platforms with precision scheduling of spaces, logistics and energy management. It has also specific schedules for maintenance and preventive vigilance so that regular work is not disturbed. Further AI-based tools are excellent in energy management – Right from sensor-based lights turning off where there is no human activity to automatic HVAC activity. There are special utilities which in collaboration with historical data and existing enterprise software, can help monitor the health of the building and issue trigger/warnings before the failure of any system.
Natural language processing:
Natural language processing and chatbots are being increasingly used by corporate worldwide to build better human resource management utilities. Employees can now ask their queries and seek answers in real-time, without having to sift through volumes of office policy paperwork. Frequently asked questions are made note of and responded to appropriately by chatbots or voice assistants. AI has also made leaps in productivity management. Most productivity management tools available right now feel like a “big brother is watching you” but AI-based tools differ from them. From unified communication tools to dynamic dashboards where everyone can look at their performance, this is a nudge to better behaviour.
Edge computing & mesh networks:
Network automation and cloud computing have ensured that there are fewer delays and roadblocks due to hardware and IT infrastructure. With edge computing, the computers are closer to data sources, while with the cloud you can access anything from anywhere. While many times IoT and edge computing are confused with each other. The edge is more of a topology or physical construction. While IoT can be thought of as a use case of edge computing. Similarly, mesh networks break hierarchy and choose the most efficient path to operate dynamically. Maximum productivity and efficiency of the system are assured!
To conclude…
Research shows that people are willing to pay over 30% more for smarter buildings, points out an engineer from a leading home automation company in Hyderabad. While automation has always been in existence in factories and industrial settings. Alexa and Google Echo have taken over our homes in style.
Artificial intelligence is bringing about a cultural revolution. The advent of voice recognition will be as much prevalent in office spaces as in homes in the coming few years. Facial recognition using a 3D camera, building-wide free WI-Fi, and gesture recognition are gaining traction. It won’t be too ambitious to say that this would be the next mobile phone-internet revolution.
