Johnson Controls has opened its S$50 million OpenBlue Innovation Center to create a future-ready built environment for Singapore and the region.

Located within the School of Design and Environment (SDE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), the 240 square-metre facility will be a living laboratory for a new breed of customisable, contact-free applications built on Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue technology suite.

It is pioneering the use of a common configuration language that bridges core building technology with behavioural, wellness, and spatial data to develop solutions that meet new demands for safety and sustainability in connected spaces.

The 240 square-metre centre is housed in SDE4, Singapore’s first new-build net-zero energy building with sensors fitted throughout the indoor space — including overhead ventilation to measure air flow, and on furniture that provides insights on occupants’ alertness level.

Engineers from the centre and collaborating NUS researchers will collect and analyse data using OpenBlue, leveraging artificial intelligence and analytics to obtain a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the interactions among technology, indoor environments and occupant well-being.

Ecosystem of partners

The ecosystem of partners, including Microsoft, will tap on the intelligence generated from the centre to create evidence-backed solutions for healthier, safer, and connected indoor spaces.

“Taking an unprecedented holistic and human-centric methodology, we are incorporating people and design perspectives, thus sparking greater innovation within industries and outside traditional boundaries,” said Visal Leng, Asia Pacific President of Building Solutions at Johnson Controls.

OpenBlue is a suite of connected platform, solutions and services that combines building expertise with cutting-edge digital technology. When integrated with Johnson Controls core building systems and enhanced by ecosystem partners, the open platform connects traditionally separate systems to create new capabilities for safer, more agile and sustainable space usages.

Living lab

Serving as a living laboratory for the centre’s pioneering solutions will help the university develop a smart, sustainable and safe campus for its staff and students.

The collaboration also includes joint research and innovation on built and urban environment, particularly in data analytics, sustainability and operations, as well as people and wellness.

“The opportunity to test Johnson Controls’ novel solutions on our campus and conduct joint research will help advance our ongoing efforts to build smarter, healthier and sustainable work, teaching and learning spaces for our staff, faculty and students,” said Professor Yong Kwet Yew, Senior Vice President (Campus Infrastructure) of NUS.