Enjoying a Pleasant Day in Brisbane Skytower

What will it be like to live in the Brisbane Skytower?

At dawn, when sunlight spills over the Brisbane River, a variety of sensors will transmit data over the Skytower’s agile network to a building automation system. The system will then trigger equipment to take action according to preset rules. For example, lights will automatically dim in response to the indoor illumination data, and the system will automatically reduce the air ventilation frequency when indoor air quality has reached the best condition.

You can go to the gym and start the day with healthy morning exercise. Later, you can go downstairs with your family to have lunch, and then go shopping in the building. At dusk, infinity pools at the tower’s crown will let you swim to the edge of the building, savoring the spectacular vistas over Moreton Bay and Brisbane. You can share these memorable moments with friends around the world through a live streaming or social platform. Meanwhile, the building’s management staff will guard you and the entire Skytower around the clock by using a state-of-the-art video surveillance system.

‘Network First’ for Smart Buildings

‘Sustainable, secure, and energy efficient’ are becoming the three key characteristics of smart buildings and the construction industry in general. These characteristics are supported by a new generation of information technologies represented by the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and Big Data.

In addition, the new Internet economy has influenced the role of buildings as essential places for people to eat and live. As a result, buildings are rapidly evolving to become more networked, human-centric, and intelligent — and, of course, supported by the growing use of IoT, cloud computing, and Big Data. These technologies enable seamless interoperability between building intelligence systems and information systems. IoT and social platform technologies are increasingly applied to daily property management and equipment room operations, taking building intelligence to a new level.

Building networks are being transformed from simply providing telephony, television, and data services to delivering all-round services such as video surveillance, Wi-Fi, and environmental awareness. The network is taking on a new look. It features service diversity, intelligence, and mobility, which raises network requirements even higher. For example:

• Higher bandwidths are needed. Compared to the declining use of traditional PCs, a growing number of smart devices such as smartphones, 4K Internet TV, home surveillance appliances, and even home robots are being used in buildings. Additionally, buildings are adopting more building control, energy management, sensing, and surveillance equipment. All these additions are calling for a dramatic increase in network bandwidths.

• Ubiquitous network access is also required to deliver anytime, anywhere access in rooms, elevators, lobbies, underground parking garages, and property management office areas.

• Simpler, faster-to-deploy, and easier-to-manage networks will help property managers and owners reduce labor costs while improving efficiency.

All of these technology advancements were under consideration by the Billbergia Group, Skytower’s property management company, when it approved Honeywell’s proposed technology solution. Bill McGarry, Billbergia Group Development Manager, understood the importance to “ready the building for the next wave of technology upgrades.”

He was confident the Honeywell technology solution, integrated with Huawei’s Passive Optical LAN (POL) Solution, would deliver the best outcome for Skytower residents for years to come.

The Billbergia Group manages the entire property investment, development, construction, marketing, and sales process to ensure an integrated approach and delivery.

Honeywell and Huawei Products

In the Skytower project, Honeywell will provide the Enterprise Buildings Integrator, a building automation system, and take charge of system integration. This includes Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), security protection, and firefighting facilities. Additionally, Honeywell will centrally manage various building subsystems and provide a visualized management portal as well as alarm management and work order management services. The goal is to implement efficient facility management, fast response, and predictive maintenance.

Huawei will provide a Passive Optical LAN (POL) solution to build a network inside the Skytower. Huawei will unleash the full potential of the passive network with its U2000 network management system, optical line terminals (MA5608T), optical network units (MA5626, M5671, and MA5620), and optical network terminals (HG8242H).

POL can be viewed as a passive optical network for enterprise applications. Using POL technology, an enterprise can combine data, voice, video, and other weak-current systems into one optical network. Prominent features include high bandwidth, high reliability, comprehensive security authentication, easy deployment, and integrated video surveillance and Wi-Fi coverage.

Huawei’s POL solution makes the following possible:

• The building automation system shares the same network with triple-play services, eliminating the need to build another standalone network

• Transmission of all services over a single fiber simplifies cabling and dramatically reduces capital expenditures

• In the middle layer, switches are replaced by passive splitters that do not need power or cooling, thus saving riser space and eliminating noise

• Smooth evolution to 10G PON while reusing existing cables for maximum investment protection

• The U2000 centrally monitors faults and alarms of all network equipment and provides added visibility to end-to-end service rollouts

Huawei and Honeywell Collaborate for Better Quality of Life

At the 2017 Huawei Partners Summit held in Sydney, Honeywell won the 2017 Award for Solution Breakthroughs due to its excellent work on the Skytower project.

“We're glad to cooperate with Huawei on the Skytower project,” said Mark Dunn, General Manager, Automation & Control Solutions, Honeywell Building Solutions. “The network is the first ever installation to utilize one common optical fiber for telephony/data and building services. The Skytower’s gigabit network — which uses over 34 kilometers of fiber optic cables and 1,144 Huawei ONTs — was made possible by partnering with TPG, a leading Australian Internet service provider.”

From Skytower to the World

In addition to smart buildings like Brisbane Skytower, Huawei and Honeywell also have agreed to jointly explore opportunities in education and enterprise campuses, business buildings, branch offices, and industrial parks in high growth regions, including China, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Western Europe, the Middle East, and India.

In addition, the companies will jointly pursue large-scale smart city projects throughout the world to help city administrators build intelligent urban infrastructures that enable them to control costs while providing a more favorable living environment for their residents.