Shimizu Accelerate Digital Transformation of Buildings with 19 ICT Vendors and Equipment Manufacturers

Shimizu Corporation（President: Kazuyuki Inoue）has partnered with 19 ICT vendors and equipment manufacturers to expand the functions of the DX-Core digital transformation（DX）platform, a building Operating System developed by Shimizu. We have embarked on developing an API to control the system and link the functions of various kinds of operating equipment in the building.

API is an abbreviation of Application Programming Interface. An API specifies the rules on procedures and data formatting from external programs to use software functions, manage data that control facility equipment. DX-Core will build an API that links the software of the various equipment systems to the DX platform, the core system, and will control equipment systems. This will make it easier for the customer to link the functions of equipment systems with different manufacturers.

There are 19 cooperating partners, including building equipment manufacturers, telecommunications carriers and specialized ICT vendors, leading security firms, and start-ups（as of the date of this announcement）. The number of participating companies is expected to increase in the future. Through collaboration with these companies, Shimizu will build an API and create a library to link the DX platform to the software that controls different kinds of equipment operating in the building, such as the elevator, air conditioner, lighting, automatic doors, office robots, unmanned reception, entry/exit monitoring, location detection data on people in the building, and security （surveillance）.

When installing DX-Core, the system integrator will select the icons representing the API of the equipment systems needed from the API library while confirming the customer’s needs. The equipment systems that needed link the functions, we intend to link the icons and data on a visual tool. Programming language is not needed for such customization work.

It is achievable to link the control apps for many kinds of equipment systems, from the air conditioning and elevator, to mobile robots that move through the building will be advanced building operation. For example, linking to the elevators, automatic doors and other such equipment will move mobile robots. Linkage to AI camera, air conditioning controls, smartphones, and signage will visualize the degree of crowd in the building and control the amount of ventilation. The data links between apps needed programmed individually for each equipment system conventionally and this has hurdled the installation of equipment to provide advanced building operation services. In DX-Core, we are therefore making it possible to configure a system just like downloading the smartphone app.

Shimizu has positioned this fiscal year as the first phase of expanding the functions of DX-Core digitalization platform. In addition to pursuing collaboration on API development, we will prepare to equip the large rental office building, MEBKS TOYOSU （former name: Toyosu 6-chome Block 4-2 Project）, and Shimizu’s new Tohoku Branch and Hokuriku Branch office buildings that Shimizu is developing with DX-Core. We will also propose the use of DX-Core to both new and existing building owners, and aim to Engineering Procurement and Construction contract to digitalize building. Equipping a new office building having 10,000 m² of total floor area is expected to about 100 to 200 million yen, including the various kinds of equipment, systems and API to link the functions devices, and applications.