Intelligent Systems Conference 2018 6-7 September 2018 | London, UK 1 | Page An Open Source Software Architecture for Smart Buildings Ahmed Abdulhasan Alwan Department of Computing and Engineering University of East London, UEL London, United Kingdom A.Alwan@uel.ac.uk Andres Baravalle Department of Computing and Engineering University of East London, UEL London, United Kingdom A.Baravalle@uel.ac.uk Mihaela Anca Ciupala Department of Computing and Engineering University of East London, UEL London, United Kingdom M.A.Ciupala@uel.ac.uk Paolo Falcarin Department of Computing and Engineering University of East London, UEL London, United Kingdom Falcarin@uel.ac.uk Abstract— Open-source software has helped opening the software market to different players, usually cut off by licenses of expensive software packages. We claim that in the Built Environment a similar open source disruption can happen by putting together different projects in a software architecture based on open data standards. This paper describes the main open-source components of such software architecture, the Smart Building Controller (SBC) that we are developing, and possible future applications. Keywords—Cyber-Physical System, BIM, BPMN, openHAB I. INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION Better public services, more energy-efficient buildings and improved citizens’ well-being are the driving motivations for the development of smart cities [1]. Smart building is any built environment that uses automated processes to automatically control the building’s operations including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, security and other systems. A smart building uses networked sensors and actuators to collect data and manage it according to configurable services. This infrastructure helps owners, operators and facility managers improving asset reliability and performance, such as reducing energy use, optimizing how space is used, and minimizing the environmental impact of buildings. New buildings, or older structures that have been converted to smart buildings, are constantly changing: they are connected to a network with intelligent and adaptable software, and they are often called Cyber physical systems (CPSs), which combine computing and networking power with physical components and networks of sensors and actuators, often called Internet of Things (IoT) [21]. Such CPSs have strict requirements for mobility, security, safety, privacy, and the processing of massive amounts of information [2]. Such complex and heterogeneous systems are usually composed of different proprietary technologies, which can often lead to different technical problems: the lack of open standards in terms of data format and communication protocols can cause delays due to software adaptation and integration costs; closed-source proprietary code can delay progress as expensive software licenses can lock customers to products not compatible with one another or with ones relying on open standards; closed-source code is also more difficult to verify in terms of reliability and security. In the Built Environment domain, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a digital representation of physical and functional features of a building, to be used as shared knowledge resource for information to provide a reliable basis for decisions during its lifecycle, from earliest design to demolition. BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a 3D model-based process that gives architecture, engineering, and construction professionals the tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure. For each asset in building the intention is that two versions will exist, the real one and the digital one: the digital model will be relevant throughout the lifecycle and the legacy data will not become outdated and unusable. With the help of BIM, both time and resources can be saved. In fact, it has been estimated that in the construction industry the same data may be entered up to seven times [1]: this could be avoided by using BIM models as an information source. BIM is disrupting the construction world, with government contracts increasingly requiring its implementation. But for Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), BIM seems like out of reach: it is expensive, it requires training, and it might not increase profits or decrease costs, so why even consider using it? In the software world, open-source software has provided a good answer for SMEs, and our research aims at creating a CPS architecture for smart-building fully based on open-source software and standard data formats and communications protocols; this paper describes the main components of the software architecture, discussing its various open-source components, and future extensions.