Next-generation intelligent, automated monitoring systems for both offices and research environments are what we might see shortly. NASA has announced that it is teaming up with Integrated Building Solutions to develop a system that will enhance energy efficiency, reduce consumption and provide a more comfortable workspace. These new smart systems being developed by NASA’s Ames Research Center and IBS will be tested at “Sustainability Base,” the environmentally friendly building that is being constructed at NASA’s Ames, and is expected to be completed in 2010.
Ames engineers are working with their IBS counterparts to repurpose NASA-built health systems and resource planning tools into green building software. These NASA technologies were initially used on aircraft control systems, and mission planning for the Mars rovers, Opportunity and Spirit. A suite of these NASA software tools is being integrated with IBS’s Intelligent Building Interface System, which provides centralized management, monitoring, automation and analysis of building systems in a browser-based console. The structure will have multiple sensors deployed that will monitor power, air temperature, moisture, airflow, light levels and water consumption.
The system will collect information related to the building and its subsystems, the available resources, the occupants and forthcoming events. All this information will be used to plan and execute a strategy to control and maintain the comfort of the occupants, while minimizing energy consumption and its carbon footprint.