New trends in building automation for offices of the future

Many office buildings today have the serviceableness and comfort of 40 years old standards. Due to limited budget especially the public authorities are not able to change the edificial status very often. However, there are developments of features or devices in modern building automation that can drastically increase the level of safety, security, comfort, energy saving, and other areas. This includes trends such as modern elevator concepts moving more than one cabin per shaft and thus generating a much better throughput. Such a system is able to optimize the order of stops and thereby save energy while enhancing the individual's sensation of efficiency. Other examples are electronic awareness-systems which can track people in the building and automatically turn on and off lighting and heat, and adaptive door signs. This can be achieved by deploying sensors of different kinds (such as photo sensors, proximity sensors, and cameras) and interpreting the sensor data received. Further examples can be emergency lights embedded in the floor which show the way to the nearest exit. These can also be used to lead guests to specific offices. Apart from that, modern buildings can learn, i.e., they can collect data and thereby extrapolate or predict human behavior. This is helpful in order to recognize situations out of the ordinary (e.g., intruders or even people in trouble) as well as prepare for predicted excessive demands like the morning rush of arriving employees to elevators. This paper gives an overview on current trends in building automation for office buildings.