SBIR Phase I: A Multifunctional Piezoelectric Smart Flooring System for Energy Efficient Control in Commercial Building Systems

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一种变革性的绿色建筑技术，克服当今使用的建筑自动化系统的几个局限性。主要是，（a）系留传感器部署的高成本，（B）对建筑物能量的依赖，（c）占用传感器的不准确性，以及（d）不能随时间调整建筑物使用的变化。该项目将利用先进的无线传感技术，创建一个低成本的传感平台，可用于普遍监测建筑物占用，环境和能源消耗。这些无线传感器将被嵌入到一个新型的压电地板系统中，该系统将使用从建筑物步行交通中收集的能量为网络提供电力。通过对每个无线传感器进行模式分类功能编程，最终的地板系统将被用作极其精确的占用传感器。最后，通过应用基于市场的优化和强化学习策略，由此产生的无线智能地板本身将被设计为在不断变化的占用率中做出最佳的建筑控制决策。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力围绕无线传感的改进和可靠实施和能源收集技术在建筑环境中。虽然这些技术优势可以应用于广泛的社会问题，但该项目的重点是最大限度地提高绿色楼宇自动化技术的环境和经济影响。在美国，商业建筑已被记录消耗超过18%的国家？的总能源和35%的国家？的电。这在很大程度上是由于能源的低效使用（例如，无人居住空间的照明、供暖或空气调节）。已经发现，像在该项目中开发的那些绿色建筑技术有可能将美国商业建筑的年能源消耗减少大约6%，减轻浪费能源的环境后果，同时创造一个绿色建筑市场，到2013年可能增长到近1500亿美元。该项目旨在通过提供自供电无线智能地板系统来利用绿色建筑技术的潜在经济和环境影响，该系统可以最大限度地减少不必要的能源消耗，同时为建筑物居住者提供额外的舒适度和环境控制。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a transformative green building technology that overcomes several limitations endemic to building automation systems in use today. Mainly, (a) the high cost of tethered sensor deployment, (b) the dependence on building energy, (c) the inaccuracy of occupancy sensors, and (d) the inability to adjust to changes in building usage over time. This project will utilize advanced wireless sensing technology to create a low-cost sensing platform that can be used to pervasively monitor building occupancy, environment, and energy consumption. These wireless sensors will then be embedded within a novel piezoelectric flooring system, which will provide power to the network using energy harvested from building foot traffic. By programming each wireless sensor with pattern classification capabilities, the resulting flooring system will be leveraged as an extremely accurate occupancy sensor. Lastly, by applying market-based optimization and reinforcement learning strategies, the resulting wireless smart floor itself will be designed to make optimal building control decisions in the midst of changing occupancy.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project centers around the improved and reliable implementation of wireless sensing and energy harvesting technologies within the built environment. While these technological benefits can be applied to a wide range of societal problems, this project is focused on maximizing the environmental and economic impact of green building automation technology. In the United States, commercial buildings have been documented to consume upwards of 18% of the Nation?s total energy and 35% of the Nation?s electricity. This is due in large part to the inefficient use of energy (e.g., the lighting, heating or air conditioning of unoccupied spaces). It has been found that green building technologies like the those being developed in this project have the potential to reduce annual U.S. commercial building energy consumption by roughly 6%, mitigating the environmental consequences of wasted energy while creating a green building market that could grow to nearly $150 billion by 2013. This project aims to capitalize on the potential economic and environmental impact of green building technologies by providing a self-powered wireless smart flooring system that can minimize unnecessary energy expenditure while providing building occupants with an additional level of comfort and environmental control.