Smart buildings specialist Johnson Controls and Microsoft have announced a global collaboration to “digitally transform” how buildings and spaces are conceived, built and managed.
Microsoft also announced the general availability of Microsoft Azure Digital Twins.
As a key partner for Azure Digital Twins, Johnson Control’s OpenBlue Digital Twin is a platform that will support the entire ecosystem of building and device management technologies with digital cloud technologies.
Microsoft’s Azure Digital Twins is the newest Azure platform service integrated into Johnson Controls OpenBlue platform. Johnson Control describes its platform as one that turns the physical world into computable objects that will enable customers to create detailed digital versions of physical buildings, assets and systems.
Digital twins are digital replicas of physical entities capable of providing an in-depth analysis of data and the potential to monitor systems to mitigate risks, manage issues and utilize simulations to test future solutions. Additionally, building managers are able to support COVID-19 safety and security protocols, while ensuring efficient use of energy and other facility resources.
Microsoft noted that Azure Digital Twins enables the creation of knowledge graphs based on digital models of entire environments, whether they are buildings, factories, farms, energy networks, railways, stadiums or entire cities.
OpenBlue Digital Twin is a platform which unifies all aspects of an intelligent building: security, employee experience, facilities management, sustainability and more. The open platform’s open system integrates with existing building infrastructure, regardless of brand, make or model.
“Digital twins are playing an increasingly important role in the design, construction and ongoing operation of healthy buildings and spaces, and can be particularly valuable when analyzing large datasets and predicting patterns and trends to tell our customers things they don’t yet know,” said Mike Ellis, vice president and chief digital and customer officer at Johnson Controls. “Our OpenBlue digital platform, closely connected with Microsoft’s platform and workplace technologies, represents an unbeatable opportunity to help our customers make shared spaces safer, more agile and more sustainable.”
“We have an incredible opportunity to use advances in cloud and compute capabilities to help customers reimagine the physical world,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud + AI, Microsoft. “By integrating the power of Azure Digital Twins with JCI’s OpenBlue Digital Twin platform, our collaboration will provide customers with a digital replica and actionable insights to better meet their evolving needs.”
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is currently testing the new solution as part of the university’s ongoing efforts to create a smart campus for students and staff.
The new alliance’s complementary products and services are coming together to test the foundations of a Digital Twin-powered operations platform. The data-driven platform will enable integrated building management across the campus and serve as the foundation for energy and space optimization, predictive maintenance, and unmanned operations.
“NUS is excited to collaborate with Microsoft and Johnson Controls, in our digital transformation journey that changes the way we design and manage our buildings and infrastructure, as we move toward a carbon-neutral campus by 2030,” said Yong Kwet Yew, senior vice president at NUS.
