Smart Buildings: New Application Area for Safety and Security Risk Analysis
Abstract
In the wake of rapid urbanization, the contemporary buildings are being transformed into complex cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in the process of mitigating their impact on climate and achieving sustainability, while meeting their primary goals viz. comfortable, productive, safe and secure built-environment. Integrating active building systems such as lighting, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), fire-safety, security etc., is central in building designs today. Smart Buildings (SBs) are an emerging class of building design that intelligently integrate these systems through Information and Communication Technologies, in order to regulate physical processes within the built-environment. Several fire incidents in modern building design process that blindfold fire protection are reported in literature (S.T. McKenna et al., 2019 and B. C. Roberts et al., 2016). Likewise, Building Management System can also be used as a backdoor to enter a larger ‘trusted’ network, thus exacerbating security risks when SBs are integrated to smart-grids (D. Fisk, 2012). More unprecedented safety and security hazards in integrated smart buildings (SBs) are expected to surface in future. Thus, SBs in cities exemplify a new application area for open challenge to risk analysis community.
Info
Newspaper Article, 2019
UN SDG Classification
DK Main Research Area
Science/Technology
