Johnson Controls launches innovation centre in Bengaluru for sustainable building technology

Global company Johnson Controls which specialises in developing sustainable buildings, launched its innovation centre in Bengaluru. The OpenBlue Innovation Centre is the third such facility for the company in India (other centres are in Pune and Hyderabad) and the tenth globally.

The state-of-the-art facility in Bengaluru will leverage artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to develop energy-efficient building technology and contribute to India’s 2070 net zero goals, the company said in a statement. The Bengaluru centre is the company’s largest facility in the country that also houses an experience centre showcasing demos of building technology in action. It will have OpenBlue, a suite of connected solutions using cloud, edge, and AI technology, in a fully operable, live environment. Customers will also be able to view digital twin of assets, processes, devices, and systems in a smart building.

“OpenBlue represents a new frontier of digitalisation that is helping buildings reach net zero emissions, and even become net energy positive. India is at the heart of technological innovations, and we are excited to expand our OpenBlue network here. Together with the thriving tech ecosystem here, we look forward to uncovering new possibilities in advancing net zero solutions for the building sector,” Vijay Sankaran, chief technology officer at Johnson Controls.

The new OpenBlue Innovation Centre has 300 engineers, and the company has also announced plans of creating additional roles in the next years to include digital twin, research and development, edge engineers, computer vision scientists, and cyber security specialists.

Sankaran also told TechCircle that Johnson Controls has internally formed an AI council to collaborate and build generative AI solutions. The company is in the process of developing a copilot-like solution for its service technicians to diagnose and fix problems in a building. This solution would also be extended to their clients moving forward.