Reconfigurable Building Components with IoT Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current building designs are not reconfigurable, leading to significant waste, time, and cost during renovations, as internal partitions and services are difficult to change or update, and existing tracking systems are not efficient for documenting changes, making it hard to maintain a building's internal configuration over time.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of reconfigurable, intelligent, and communicating building components and connectors using protocols like RFID, Bluetooth, and IoT, which form a Building Configuration and Management System (BCMS) that allows for real-time management and reconfiguration of building structures and services, enabling smart responses to environmental and user needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional fixed building structures are used, then structural stability is maintained, but reconfigurability and adaptability are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The building structure is divided into modular components including wall panels, floor sections, and service modules that can be independently reconfigured. Each module maintains structural integrity while allowing flexible arrangement changes through standardized connection interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The building system transitions from static fixed structures to dynamic reconfigurable assemblies. Wall panels and service modules are designed to be movable and adjustable, enabling the building to adapt its configuration while maintaining stability through controlled connection and disconnection mechanisms.
2Adaptability or versatility
If demolition and rebuild is performed for reconfiguration, then functional changes are achieved, but material waste and time loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of demolishing building components during reconfiguration, the system enables recovery and reuse of wall panels, floor sections, and service modules through standardized disconnection interfaces. Components are designed for multiple reconfiguration cycles, significantly reducing material waste.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the building into reusable modular components with standardized connections, the system allows functional changes through reassembly rather than demolition, preserving materials and reducing waste.
3Loss of information
If manual tracking of building configuration is used, then documentation is maintained, but accuracy and real-time updates deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors and communication interfaces on building components that automatically detect and report configuration changes to a central management system. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures accurate tracking of building layout, service routing, and component positions without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
Building components are equipped with embedded identification and communication capabilities that enable them to self-report their status, position, and configuration data automatically, eliminating the need for manual tracking and improving accuracy.
4Extent of automation
If reconfigurable components with communication capabilities are implemented, then adaptability and automation are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs universal standardized interfaces and communication protocols across all building components. This multi-functionality approach allows different components to interact through common standards, reducing the need for component-specific complexity while enabling automated reconfiguration.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and techniques for building, maintaining, and/or renovating buildings using reconfigurable, intelligent, and/or communicating components and connectors are provided. These reconfigurable building components and connectors are configured to communicate with each other and with the internal structures and services of a building, using various protocols, for more efficient reconfiguration, management, and maintenance as well as safety. Examples provide a Building Configuration and Management System which provides a set of “smart” components, connectors, and protocols and a Building Control System that connects all internal building structures and services together in ways that allow them to communicate their location, state, and other information to each other and to other entities and to control them, potentially automatically. The BCMS facilitates, among other things, more efficient reconfiguration of these structures and services without demolition.