CSA Group’s Director of Innovation, Stephen Brown, offered his thoughts on the future of Intelligent Design in a discussion with the Fair’s Organizer

As the 10th edition of Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology (SIBT) and second edition of Shanghai Smart Home Technology (SSHT), the two fairs attracted 240 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions.

During the very first day, Stephen Brown, CSA Group Director of Innovation sat down with Eric Chen, public relation officer of the organizer to discuss trends in Intelligent Design.

How do you view the development of intelligent buildings and smart homes in China changing in the coming years?

China has a unique opportunity to advance the adoption of intelligent building design and make it accepted as mainstream. This could speed up adoption in the rest of the world. The environmental benefits of intelligent design are widely accepted which should shift the economy toward adoption, with the added benefit of tighter security making it an obvious choice. 

What challenges do you see? How does your company respond to the challenging environment?

One of the main concerns with intelligent design are cybersecurity issues. Another challenge is the variety of options available and the lack of industry standards that could streamline the development and the implementation of optimal applications, advancing the industry for all stakeholders.

CSA Group is working to support manufacturers in bringing innovative products to the market while helping to ensure regulatory compliance globally, through testing and certification as well as standards development. Testing and certification is an important part of helping innovative products reach global markets.

What impact do you think the Internet of Things and big data will have on intelligent buildings? How do you keep up with the opportunities from this “smart” trend? 

The Internet of Things will be an important component of intelligent design allowing the system itself to constantly monitor and adapt to changing conditions.

As intelligent design becomes more common, the need for data storage will become imperative. The two technologies must advance together in order to achieve all of the benefits. The most researched area at this point is energy efficiency, which has its own Quality Management Standard. Focussing resources and technological improvements in this area will provide the best analytics and show the overall impact of the new technologies.

Source: ‘Messe Frankfurt / Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology’

About CSA Group

CSA Group is an independent organization dedicated to safety, social good and sustainability.  Its knowledge and expertise encompass standards development; training and advisory solutions; global testing and certification services across key business areas including hazardous location and industrial, transportation, plumbing and construction, medical, safety and technology, appliances and gas, alternative energy, lighting and sustainability; as well as consumer product evaluation services.  The CSA certification mark appears on billions of products worldwide.   For more information about CSA Group visit www.csagroup.org