Including Smart Sensors in Building Design

Pointing to new studies about smart building architectural design.

Using smart sensor technology in building design in TechXplore   by San Diego State University

Have lights turned on automatically when you walk into a room? Does the air conditioner in the conference room turn on when a certain number of people enter the room?

In today's world, spaces with motion and temperature "smart sensors" are common and generally improve our overall well-being. Often times, data is being gathered from these sensors and is stored and analyzed in order to improve future architectural building design processes.

However, research conducted by Dr. Maryam Abhari ( who a registered architect) and Dr. Kaveh Abhari of San Diego State University, indicated that while the information and technology exists to assist architects in designing structures that offer more efficient space and energy management, they seldom take advantage of those available resources. "We've found recent studies showing that smart sensors are frequently added to a building after they are built, rather than being used as a source of inspiration and insight during the design process," said Kaveh Abhari. "We wanted to know why architects and design professionals were not only slow to integrate smart sensor design and data into their work, but why they were also slow to adapt to new technologies as well."

The researchers, both of whom are faculty members in the management information systems department (MIS) at SDSU's Fowler College of Business, initially interviewed 29 architecture professionals to identify why they were slow to integrate technology into their design processes. They interviewed only those professionals who either had experience with smart sensors or have attended educational sessions on smart sensor technology (SST). Their findings were presented at the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. ... '