How Telefónica is Turning Spaces into Smart Buildings

Telefónica, in collaboration with Siemens, Bookker and BIM6D, has presented at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) the ‘Smart Buildings’ demonstration area, where all the advantages of technology applied to these spaces are staged around four pillars: efficiency, sustainability, people and security.

Within this value proposition, the Smart Building platform plays a fundamental role in transforming spaces into smart buildings, as it integrates the management of all the solutions and collects the main indicators of each one of them. In addition, Artificial Intelligence enables predictive models to anticipate the future use and consumption of the building. Likewise, this Smart Building tool is integrated with Powerbim, a digital platform developed by BIM6D, which provides a Digital Twin support with multiple technologies based on data – static and dynamic – to manage the life cycle of buildings and infrastructures through the six dimensions.

Telefónica, in collaboration with Siemens, acts as an integrator of all solutions, and has the capacity, thanks to Desigo CC, to offer all the proposals that a building would need in a joint, analyzed and global way. Smart buildings offer a number of important benefits, including economic ones. Through the use of the Building Management System (BMS), the building management system, energy consumption can be monitored and the application of rules for electricity, gas or water consumption can be automated. The analysis of occupancy, flows and user behaviour will allow optimisation of the use of spaces and increase comfort.

Telefónica is committed to achieving a world where technology contributes to protecting the planet. For this reason, it promotes digitalisation and connectivity as key levers for customers to develop their business in a more efficient and sustainable way. The installation of photovoltaic solar panels will enable the company to consume renewable energy and be self-sufficient for at least the next 25 years, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting the circular economy.

In this environment, where the well-being of people plays an increasingly important role in the management of buildings, at a time when the implementation of new hybrid work models is beginning to transform spaces, Bookker, a Wayra Startup, offers a SaaS solution to manage all resources in an efficient, sustainable and integrated way, putting users at the centre. Through a mobile application and augmented reality technology, users can book a workstation, meeting room, parking space or dining room, all creating a simple and visual user experience. Likewise, improving the user experience also involves better communication management, broadcasting the most appropriate content depending on the time, audience, use and state of the building.

In terms of physical security, these solutions improve and provide biometric technology based on Artificial Intelligence for access control, innovation for fire protection, optimisation of monitoring thanks to the use of cameras equipped with video analytics intelligence that automate the detection of incidents, significantly reducing response times or the use of autonomous drones to carry out surveillance rounds. They also increase usability to enhance user and worker satisfaction by optimising air quality, lighting and temperature. And finally, it reinforces safety with more efficient and healthy buildings, which translates into the protection of occupants’ health and safety.

Together, these proposals provide a global knowledge of both what is outside and inside the building with socio-demographic parameters. The integration platform of the different systems also aims to centralise, automate, collect and present data more efficiently, facilitating decision-making with IoT as the enabling technology.

Elena Gil, Global Head of Product and Business Operations for IoT & Big Data at Telefónica Tech, said: “Telefónica offers a global value proposition based on connectivity, physical security, IoT and AI, which facilitates the development of Smart Buildings. Our goal is to provide buildings with the most advanced intelligence to increase efficiency, promote sustainability, improve the user experience and increase security.

Fernando Morales Tosar, CEO and founder of Consulting & Performance, explains: “In BIM6D we provide digitization services for the Construction and Real State industry, placing data at the center. For this reason, we have created PowerBIM digitaltwin platform, a pioneer solution in the integration of BIM to databases for asset management, and, in that point, we have found Telefónica as the strategic necessary partner to impact the market with a global solution that integrates the most cutting-edge technologies for smart buildings”.

Miguel Ángel Orellana, CEO and founder of Bookker, says: “We are very excited to be involved in such an inclusive and impactful project. The new workspaces are being redesigned towards more collaborative spaces and the user experience in them will be the key to generate maximum efficiencies, create safer and more pleasant environments that will result in an improved working environment and the attraction and retention of talent making organisations more competitive”.