Obayashi Corporation has developed the WELCS place smart building platform through open innovation with multiple companies both inside and outside Japan. WELCS place enables building managers and users alike to use a variety of data-linked services, or applications.

In recent years, the drive to increase real estate added value has created a growing need for smart buildings that incorporate IoT and other technologies and are adapted to advanced digitalization. However, the establishment of a system that can centrally manage an entire building is still some way off. In most cases, individual applications are used to provide the various services required.

Obayashi Corporation addressed this situation by improving its WellnessBOX smart building management system developed in 2018 in order to develop a flexible and scalable platform that allows both the managers and users of smart buildings to utilize the services they desire.

Now, Obayashi has developed the WELCS place smart building platform that can run multiple data-linked applications on the same user interface. The platform was developed through open innovation by multiple companies worldwide with clear strengths in different fields. These fields included the building of integrated networks and service-linking platforms for aggregating data obtained through IoT, the development of applications that can be easily updated and linked, and the integration of systems to bring all these applications together.

The platform already offers a large number of selectable services such as robot utilization, meeting room and seat reservations, and energy-usage visualization. The plan is to add new services as needed that enable different users to utilize the data collected from inside the building through IoT and other means for different purposes. These purposes could include using camera-captured images not just for security but also for monitoring building congestion and meeting room usage, as well as for facial recognition, temperature monitoring, and unmanned reception desks.

The WELCS place system is currently being used in Port Plus, Obayashi Yokohama Training Center in Kanagawa Prefecture. A number of people in the training facility can be ascertained using image analysis, and the operation and management of the facility can be automatically controlled to achieve a comfortable environment in terms of air-conditioning and other services, while conserving energy at the same time. People staying in the accommodation facility enjoy a comfortable space that enables them to select their preferred level of air conditioning and lighting, optimizes the control of blinds, visualizes sleep status using sleep sensors, and sets circadian rhythm lighting to help people fall asleep and wake up in the most comfortable way.

Obayashi Corporation is expanding the use of WELCS place by introducing the platform into the oak Konan Shinagawa office building owned by Group company Obayashi-Shinseiwa Real Estate Corporation. Beyond that, the platform will be made broadly available for other uses, such as in smart cities, factories, schools, hospitals, commercial facilities, and hotels.