边缘Boston: M2M's 'huge leap forward' on energy savings

At VERGE Boston yesterday, panelists explored machine-to-machine communications, the burgeoning but poorly understood technology that expertspredict will constitute a $1 trillion dollar industry by the end of the decade.

Machine-to-machine, or M2M, technology enables all kinds of devices -- heating valves, wireless sensors, in-flight recorders, and more -- to collect and share reams of data with analytics software that can in turn help systems function with near-perfect efficiency.

The sustainability implications of M2M are immense. With applications in fields as varied as energy, building management, transportation, and agriculture, M2M has the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 9.1 gigatons annually. That's equivalent to the 2010 emissions of India and the United States combined.

Panelist John Schultz, who directs AT&T's sustainability operations, noted that investments in M2M could produce carbon dioxide reductions equal to all renewable energy sources combined. Savings in resources like water and fertilizer could be equally significant.

Joining Schulz on the panel were Mark Bernardo, general manager of automation software at GE Intelligent Platforms, and Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Probst, who last yearreceived a VERGE 25 Awardfor his leadership in harnessing automation systems to make buildings operate more sustainably, gushed with enthusiasm for the opportunities M2M offers the real estate industry.

Probst observed that, while the concept of building optimization has existed for decades, the last few years have been characterized by "a huge leap forward" in optimization technologies, in large part because of the increased demand for energy savings during the Great Recession.

普罗布斯特说，最新的M2M技术使建设管理“的能力，以拉动数据移出建筑物，运行分析的，真正不断微调和优化建筑物的节能性能。”

"We're finding incredible savings," said Probst, citing consistent reductions in energy consumption of between 10 to 20 percent in less than two years.

Probst also noted that M2M can produce efficiencies within a building's operations that even the best engineers cannot replicate.

"Building operating engineers cannot watch every valve and damper and how it's performing in the building," he said. "Through technology we've got eyes and ears that tell us when performance is beginning to degrade or when something's not performing in an optimal way and can make those corrections almost instantaneously."

Bernardo has likewise been thrilled with the computational power of machines, which he has seen used to optimize the performance of aircraft engines.

“我们收集10，数据的20个TB的关每天的动力，”他说，这是用来确定最佳的引擎设置和飞行路径，飞机的整个机队。

Still, the panelists were adamant that M2M does not threaten to render human input obsolescent and usher in an era of machine overlords -- at least not yet.

"I'm constantly reminding people that at some point, somebody with a wrench or screwdriver has to go adjust something… or tweak something," said Probst. "We have to remember that there is always -- or at least for the foreseeable future -- going to be some human element that's key to all this."

Schulz, who has seen M2M applied to agricultural operations to optimize water and fertilizer usage, echoed Probst's sentiment.

"There are things that can be done very well by machines," he said. "They can find exceptions, they can find faults, they can find anomalies, and they can flag those." But at some point, "an action is required, a decision is required, and that's where, at least for now, the machine can't do that, or do that as well as a human."

Asked if they had one suggestion to prepare for the M2M future, the panelists all agreed that business owners should start small.

"Identify a source of waste," said Schulz, "and do a small pilot."