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Safe, Smart Buildings in Smart Cities
A smart city is a hyperconnected wonder with transport, public services and infrastructure enabled by technology and data. This interconnectedness has many benefits for its citizens as it has efficiency and safety at its core and enables greater access to public services, education and opportunities.
Leading smart cities such as Zurich, Oslo and Singapore have one thing in common - the progressive development of smart buildings. Matching the innovations of smart cities, smart buildings are also sustainable, safe and comfortable for residents and plan for a low-waste, energy-efficient future.
Smart buildings are safer buildings
The energy efficiency of smart buildings is well known but the security features of these buildings are increasingly becoming a requested feature for developers and owners. Smart security not only protects the building’s people and assets but also eases the experience of entering and moving through the building, in turn improving the overall employee experience. When people feel safe in their work environment they are more likely to report feeling greater job satisfaction and overall better health.
NEC helps to achieve this smart building security with face recognition access. The technology uses real-time identification, verification and situation analysis to provide building managers with a holistic view of people inside, and entering the building. Although emerging as a commercial building security technology, face recognition is widely accepted in airports and is increasingly being used in public buildings such as courthouses and shopping malls.
Smart building use cases
In Singapore, healthcare provider SingHealth is using the technology not only for security but also to improve the patient experience. Patients are able to pre-register for their appointment and enter using the face recognition secure access tool, provided by NEC. This allows patients to prepare for their appointments at a time convenient for them and ensures a smooth arrival and access to the facilities.
NEC’s office building uses face recognition for secure employee entry. This implementation removes the need for physical access cards therefore also removing the labour and materials involved in creating and replacing the frequently lost cards.
Personal data security is critical for NEC and office building access is no different. When people access the building using face recognition, a geometric avatar is created to anonymise the image and prevent the potential loss of personal information.
Security is physical and digital
A smart building’s security comes from both its physical presence and its resilience to cybersecurity threats. For example, as IoT devices are progressively added to increase smart building capabilities, so are the endpoints that create opportunities for hackers to enter and disrupt security systems.
In Germany, one company learnt this lesson the hard way when hackers took control of the smart devices that powered the heat, light and security features of their smart buildings. Ironically, the company provides smart building solutions and had installed the system themselves.
To protect teams and assets while increasing smart building features, companies must activate robust cybersecurity at every stage of deployment. For example, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing (VAPT) uncovers potential weaknesses at every stage of development and produces detailed technical reports to empower cybersecurity teams to problem-solve. Pair VAPT with cybersecurity training and teams are able to respond to the evolving threat landscape with increased knowledge and confidence.
The German company took this very step. By increasing endpoint security and staff training, the company is once again able to deliver on its promise of a safer, secure building.
Smart government services
The safety features of smart buildings are particularly important for public service locations where many visitors need fast, secure access to critical services. These buildings, often run by government agencies, are also likely to have ESG requirements to meet meaning that any digitalisation of public services must work to increase, and not exclude, citizens from the services they provide.
This exact ambition is playing out through a library in Singapore that has a corporate aim to increase access and availability of its services to patrons. Using NEC technology, the library was able to improve in-building services by adding out-of-hours book collection, using robots to return items with 99% accuracy and automating book sorting. This also increased available hours for staff to provide more in-person services when needed.
Smart buildings in smart towns
While smart buildings in smart cities are seen as the pioneers of innovation they have also acted as the testbed for smaller, township smart developments. What works at scale is likely to work in smaller environments and means suburban and rural residents are able to benefit from the same benefits of smart buildings as city dwellers.
But that’s not to say these environments are the same. Whereas dense, urban environments have similar transportation, waste and safety requirements, smaller towns have unique identities that require custom deployments. Development in this area must pay attention to cultural and environmental nuances for the changes to be a success.
Smart town is critical to building equality across different localities and using technology to enable smart, safe services that increase opportunities for all people.
Safe, smart buildings build equity
Smart cities, smart towns and smart buildings benefit businesses and citizens alike with safe ease of access as their primary feature. Translate this model to government services and more people are able to access the support they need to fully participate in society and live a rich, connected life.
Building equity through trusted innovation is one of NEC’s core principles. We believe in fair access to all opportunities and work with customers to embed technology that increases the security and safety of all citizens. NEC had been, and will still be, a big part of ASEAN, as the trusted partner to support businesses through their transformation, into the future of sustainable smart towns.
Watch a video to find out how NEC contributes to risk management;
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Chika Hamada
Senior Marketing Communications Executive
NEC Asia Pacific
Having joined NEC Corporation from 2017, Chika Hamada has been crafting her marketing experiences by exposing herself to multiple aspects in marketing. She oversees the promotion of public safety initiatives across various fields including aviation, finance and hospitality, to enhance customer experiences through digital transformation.
She recently joined NEC APAC as a Senior Marketing Communications Executive based in Singapore, to drive NEC’s marketing efforts in Southeast Asia and is in also in charge of digital marketing to boost corporate brand value.
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