Newswise — Syracuse, N.Y.-based company CollabWorx Inc. and collaborators from the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (Syracuse CoE) and Syracuse University have developed a working prototype of an indoor climate control system that has the ability to make "smart" decisions in response to changing conditions within an office or building based on interaction with the human occupants.
The Open Web Services-based Indoor Climate Control System technology allows individuals to communicate, monitor and adjust their personal environmental preferences (temperature, light, humidity, etc.) much like they would in an automobile, via the Web. The system is equipped with an occupancy sensor that recognizes the presence and identity of the individual. A built-in expert system can make decisions based on data from multiple sources so that the system can alter its activity to conserve energy while maintaining users' comfort. The Syracuse CoE provided $350,000 in funding to develop the technology.
The system's first working prototype consists of three typical cubicle workstations with system components connected to desktop computers. The system components include a main unit, manual control device, network interface controller unit, small vents and a heater unit. The prototype uses only pervasive Internet-related technologies, including Internet Protocol-based sensors and device controllers developed by Sensyr LLC , another Syracuse-based company and a partner in the project.
Researchers plan to deploy the three-cubicle working prototype into a full-scale, real-world office setting as part of the new test lab areas being built at SU or at the Syracuse CoE headquarters, where occupants will operate the system and researchers will document system performance and energy savings. This trial will allow for subsequent commercialization of the technology.
CollabWorx's description of the climate control system was one of three winners of the Best Poster Award at the international "Clima 2007" conference in Helsinki, Finland, on June 14. The CollabWorx entry was selected from 206 entries from 33 countries that competed for the award.
CollabWorx emerged from the New York State Center for Advanced Technology in Computer Applications and Software Engineering (CASE Center) at Syracuse University, where it started as an incubator company in 2000. Today, CollabWorx is based in the Syracuse Technology Garden with additional offices in the New York City metropolitan area and in Virginia, and employs 15 people.
The company provides secure, high-performance and multi-platform solutions that allow companies to improve operational efficiency and reduce operating expenditures through enhanced inter-company and partner communications, collaboration, and distance learning and training. CollabWorx provides its advanced technology and support to resellers, leading federal and commercial customers, and universities in the United States and Europe. Its customers include the U.S. Army, the Defense Language Institute, CA (Computer Associates), SAIC, Computer Science Corp., Raytheon, C2 Technologies, and Syracuse's MetroNet and Progressive Expert Consulting providers of network services.
"We are delighted to learn of the international recognition received by Marek Podgorny and his Collabworx team in collaboration with the Center of Excellence and Syracuse University," says Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce President Darlene Kerr. "Their demonstration of a prototype of software and hardware supporting the control and monitoring of a Smart Building ecosphere is further evidence of the world-class research and development occurring right here in Syracuse that will make a major difference in the development of energy conservation methods." "Bringing innovations from world-class research into the marketplace to stimulate local economic growth is core to the mission of the Syracuse Center of Excellence," says Syracuse CoE Executive Director Edward Bogucz. "This innovative work by CollabWorx, and the international recognition, is a stellar example of our mission in action—to contribute to the local economy and to help solve pressing issues, such as global warming, through efficient use of energy in buildings."
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