Days of digital technologies: the course has been set for the AI-enabled digitalization of residential buildings.

Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)) Dr. Franziska Brantner opened the fourth Digital Technologies Days, which were attended by almost 600 visitors and 56 exhibitors from a total of seven funding programs. In her speech, she emphasized the importance and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for more efficient processes and increased productivity.

“Berlin Declaration”: paving the way for innovative digitalization of residential buildings

The subsequent presentation of the “Berlin Declaration”, with which Germany is positioning itself as a pioneer in the digital transformation of living and residential environments, was groundbreaking for the residential building sector. In this declaration, representatives of German industry, the housing sector, science and the skilled trades jointly pledge their support for the development of secure data rooms and thus the digitalization of residential and residential-like buildings such as hotels or care facilities.

The driving force behind the “Berlin Declaration” is SmartLivingNEXT flagship project. “By providing non-discriminatory and secure access to data, the technology reduces dependence on dominant non-European companies and thus creates the conditions for keeping value creation in Germany,” explains Michael Schidlack, Principal Researcher at the Research Association for Electrical Engineering (FE) at ZVEI e. V. and consortium leader in SmartLivingNEXT flagship project. “In the coming years, we expect numerous new, innovative and AI-based applications based on SmartLivingNEXT that will make our living and residential environments more sustainable.”

 

SmartLivingNEXT: “Best of both worlds” concept

The SmartLivingNEXT technology program, which is funded to the tune of 25 million euros, demonstrated how far progress has already been made in implementing this vision on a 21-square-meter area with the consortium partnersGerman Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)), Forschungsvereinigung Elektrotechnik beim ZVEI e. V., Materna Information & Communications SE and Open Experience GmbH. The core element of SmartLivingNEXT is a secure data room that provides a standardized access point to residential building data. This creates the first universal and AI-based ecosystem for all digital smart living services. “SmartLivingNEXT pursues a ‘best of both worlds’ concept. This means that manufacturers retain their proven systems and business models. They also have the opportunity to enrich their proven models with additional business models,” says Michael Schidlack. Participation in the ecosystem can be realized “step by step”, “manufacturers can start with their own dataspaces and existing partners and only link their own systems to the entire ecosystem at a later stage.”

Materna presents SmartLivingNEXT Dataspace, Dataspace Blueprint Portal and mobile app

Materna will provide the technical components for the operation of the dataspace ecosystem over the course of the project. At the TddT stand, the company presented the Dataspace Blueprint, a compilation of software components for setting up a dataspace and connecting it to the ecosystem. The consortium partner also presented the “Dataspace Blueprint Portal”, a graphical user interface for data and service asset management that is of particular interest to administrators. Materna also demonstrated the first version of a SmartLivingNEXT mobile app for tenants in apartment buildings. This makes residential buildings more energy efficient.

German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) presents HoloLens, tablet augmented reality and data room demonstrator

The innovative possibilities for visualizing the energy consumption of a building complex were demonstrated by German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) with an augmented reality (AR) demo. Visitors to the SmartLivingNEXT stand were able to view current and energy consumption data from the Dudo Park Saarbrückenavailable via the SmartLivingNEXT Dataspace with the help of interactive AR glasses. The special feature was the 3D visualization of the entire building complex via AR glasses or tablet. The data room demonstrator presented by German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) showed that the SmartLivingNEXT Dataspace can be used to improve AI training methods by confidently networking and processing data from different participants.

Open Experience shows living space(s) patient model

The SmartLivingNEXT project BIM-4-CARE, represented by its consortium leader Konstantin Krahtov, Open Experience, presented a living space(s) patient model that is created in advance on site with the patient using modern technologies such as helmet camera systems DIGIBAU 360, robotic dogs or manual questionnaires and checklists. This model can be used to carry out various disease development simulations that highlight critical areas in terms of mobility, quality of life or social interaction in the living environment and at the same time suggest possible measures to improve the situation.

ForeSight predecessor project receives award

In addition to many technical discussions and presentations, there was a special item on the agenda for SmartLivingNEXT. The predecessor project ForeSight received an award during the “Highlights” session of the technology programs funded by German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in recent years. Michael Schidlack, former project manager at ForeSight, accepted the award on behalf of the consortium on stage in front of an expert audience and explained the history: “The ForeSight project was about showing that it is possible to use AI in residential buildings if only a sufficiently large data pool is available. This data pool should be designed to be manufacturer-independent. The idea of the ‘SmartLivingNEXT Dataspace’ was developed as part of this project and later aligned with Gaia-X. With ForeSight, we have shown that this is technically possible and what benefits it can bring for industry, trade, the housing sector and tenants.” A total of six projects were honored under the moderation of Alexa von Busse and Mads Pankow.

Specialist session “Data spaces for sustainable living and residential environments”

Visitors were able to take a real “deep dive” into the technology program at the specialist session “SmartLivingNEXT – data spaces for sustainable living and residential environments”, which took place in the afternoon. The two-hour session offered a comprehensive strategic and technical insight into the various aspects of the flagship project. In his opening presentation, Michael Schidlack explained the added value of the technology program. His conclusion: the ecosystem is established and intact. This has now laid the foundation for many new applications, for example in the areas of energy monitoring, assistance and care, home security or housing management and building maintenance.

When Thomas Feld, Vice President Data Economics and AI, Materna SE, took to the podium, things got technical. He showed how the SmartLivingNEXT data ecosystem is created from a variety of different dataspaces and which components are already available in the SmartLivingNEXT dataspace. And here, too, the good news: “SmartLivingNEXT projects can merge and share available data sources from different sources across projects via the SENSE WoT standard in accordance with the GDPR and the EU Data Act,” said Feld. Ten representatives of the SmartLivingNEXT projects then gave short statements to the expert audience, explaining the applications they had developed and their added value. The panel was moderated by Professor Thomas Heimer, Wirtschaftsinitiative Smart Living (WISL). Dr. Klaus Glasmacher, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), and Birgit Bott, DLR, in her role as project sponsor, were also among the audience.

Panel discussion: experts pledge their support for the complete digitalization of residential buildings through shared data rooms

The concluding panel discussion with Adalbert Neumann, CEO of Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH and Chairman of the WISL Steering Committee, Dr Claus Wedemeier, Head of the Demography and Digitalization Department at GdW, Paul Seifert, Head of the Technology & Digitalization Department at ZVEH and Dr Wolfgang Weber, Chairman of the Management Board of ZVEI e.V., was a high-calibre event. Under the title “Why SmartLivingNEXT is a forward-looking solution for industry, the housing sector, trade and users”, they discussed the opportunities and challenges that can be expected for the complete digitalization of residential buildings.

The Digital Technologies Days 2024 impressively demonstrated that SmartLivingNEXT plays a key role in the design of future-oriented and sustainable living spaces(s). By combining digital infrastructure, smart services and the involvement of all relevant stakeholders – from industry and the trades to end users – the project is setting new standards for connected living environments that are worth living in. The event offered valuable insights into the future of smart living and made it clear that SmartLivingNEXT is much more than a technical concept – it is an essential component of a sustainable and intelligently networked society.