Camgian Microsystems Corporation and the School of Engineering have collaborated to prototype a new Internet of Things (IoT) energy intelligence system for the facility management market through the engineering school’s senior design program.
Effectively capturing and processing usage data from large buildings can provide facility managers with a powerful tool for reducing expenses in their operations. However, cost effective collection, communication, and analytical processing of this data across large, distributed facilities is a significant challenge.
To address this need, four Vanderbilt electrical engineering seniors – Brian Neaves, Seth Ptton, Muhammad Ahmad and Wan Ibrahim – have prototyped a novel IoT energy intelligence system that correlates sensor data related to occupancy patterns and environmental conditions such as lights, humidity and temperature, which can support optimization of building controls.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Vanderbilt’s senior design program on this project,” said Gary Butler, chairman and CEO of Camgian Microsystems. “The IoT market is a key strategic initiative for Camgian and we appreciate Vanderbilt’s support of our product development efforts in this space.
“Camgian will utilize the prototype and research from this project to better understand the needs of customers for the development of an edge computing device to be released in October of this year,” said Butler, who served as the team’s adviser. Butler is a 1994 graduate of Vanderbilt University with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Engineering senior design courses provide Vanderbilt students with experience working on real-world projects that involve design constraints, budgets, reviews and deadlines.
The Camgian-sponsored team was able to learn about the principles of design, professionalism, entrepreneurship and the day-to-day implications of intellectual property.
The final senior design presentations will be held April 21, 2014, from 4-6 p.m. in Vanderbilt’s Featheringill Hall.