Weekly Briefing

article sponsor image
Feature

Emerging COVID Technologies Showcased at Realcomm | IBcon 2020 Hybrid Event

September 18, 2020 | Jim Young, Co-Founder & CEO, Realcomm
4 min read
listen to article Listen to this article

In March, we needed to make a critical decision about the annual Realcomm | IBcon conference. Our options were postponing to 2021 or holding a virtual event. In many respects pushing to 2021 would have been an easier decision. But after much thoughtful conversation and debate, we surfaced a third option: Adapt an onsite event in combination with a virtual event, and we decided to move forward with the industry’s first hybrid experience.

2020 decision-making

We fully understood this would look nothing like our 2019 event in Nashville, where more than 2,500 people from around the world came together for extraordinary conversations about real estate technology and innovation. Our 2020 logic was simple. As members of the built environment, and a massive contributor to the GDP, our industry needs to support people getting back into buildings as safely and quickly as possible.


For many, pushing to 2021 was the easy way out. It removed the urgency from the situation but put countless jobs at stake, potentially damaging our industry for years. The bottom line is that restaurants, retail stores, barber shops, conferences, schools and many other businesses have begun the journey to try and figure out just what the new normal looks like. It will not look like what we are used to, but it is the first step back to a new normal.


Understanding the science and recognizing that COVID-19 presents an unprecedented challenge, we decided “trying” to hold an event was not enough. We were committed to truly “leaning in” and learning how to make buildings safer and more resistant to this type of virus. It is worth stating that no matter what precautions are taken, there is always risk that something, like a bug, can get past all the best preparation, but that is also true with life.


The leadership journey

The first step of our journey was assembling a team of leading professionals to inspect our conference facility, the Gaylord Rockies just outside Denver, and begin to understand the facility systems in place that could be adjusted to help mitigate viral impact and spread. In early August about a dozen professionals, MSIs, MEPs, Building Performance Engineers and Smart Building Consultants, went onsite - accompanied by 15+ virtual building specialists - to tour the facility and examine the technology and systems in place. While we are still analyzing the findings, one thing is for sure: had we not attempted a hybrid event, we would never have accelerated the reopening learning curve to this extent.


Top COVID-Tech

The second step was scouring the globe to find COVID-related technology that can create a safer, healthier environment. “Clean” technologies have been around for decades to combat pandemics. However, given the evolving information on the current virus, Realcomm researched in-depth to find the top technology designed to identify the presence of COVID-19, minimize the spread, prevent infection and kill the virus.


As part of the on-site Realcomm | IBcon event we will demonstrate and, in some cases, utilize the technology we discovered. Here are the leading devices and solutions we have vetted to date:


Symptom Sense – Health Scanner

The world’s first medical evaluation gateway which can quickly and safely scan for temperature, blood oxygen level, heart rate and respiration rate, making it the most accurate, comprehensive primary health/symptom screening system in the world.


LuminUltra – Microbial Testing

The LuminUltra advanced testing system offers fast and accurate microbial testing. With strategic and careful swabbing of high traffic areas, the system detects the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces, including bathrooms, counters and other common areas.


GallatinAir iMod Modular Ionization

This modular ionization system allows for an ionization bar to be inserted into an existing HVAC system. Revolutionary air purification technology cleans air in an efficient, safe, unobtrusive and economical way. The technology is evolving quickly and will likely be relevant long after the current pandemic has ended.


GallatinAir iMod Portable Ionization Unit

A portable system the size of a dormitory refrigerator provides the same features and functions of the Modular Ionization system, plus a germicidal UV-C lamp to keep the HEPA filter sanitized - but requires no installation and offers a great degree of flexibility.


Xenex – LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot

The LightStrike Robot delivers up to 4,300X more germicidal pathogen killing intensity than UV-C mercury vapor and can disinfect a small room in as little as 20 minutes. This technology could soon be commonplace in routine cleaning of offices, malls and other public spaces.


These five technologies are just the beginning of what should prove to be an entire new component of the smart building industry called COVIDTech. Realcomm plans to bring these technologies to our onsite event in Colorado, October 28-29. Demonstrations and discussions will allow participants to better understand the potential of this emerging technology category.


Register for Realcomm | IBcon 2020 and join us virtually, in Colorado or both.

Jim Young, Co-Founder & CEO, Realcomm
Founder of Realcomm Conference Group, an education organization that produces Realcomm, IBcon and CoRE Tech, the world's leading conferences on technology, automated business solutions, intelligent buildings and energy efficiency for the commercial and corporate real estate industry. As CEO, Jim interacts with the largest companies globally pertaining to some of the most advanced and progressive next generation real estate projects under development.

This Week’s Sponsor

BrainBox AI was created with the goal of redefining building automation through artificial intelligence to be at the forefront of a green building revolution. BrainBox AI’s deep learning solution enables the HVAC system in a building to operate autonomously, in real-time, generating up to a 25% reduction in total energy costs. Since its launch in May 2019, BrainBox AI has installed its self-learning AI HVAC technology in over 25 million square feet of commercial properties, across 3 continents. BrainBox AI supports real estate clients in numerous sectors, including office buildings, airports, hotels, multi-residential, long-term care facilities, grocery stores as well as commercial retail, and works in collaboration with research partners including the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO) as well as educational institutions such as McGill University.