Finnish public sector takes a digital leap with Tieto’s Empathic Building solution

Tieto accelerates the digitalization of public sector buildings in Finland by offering the Empathic Building Core solution – originally launched at Slush two years ago and already used by many companies – free of charge for all public sector buildings in Finland. The Tampere University is the first public body to adopt the solution.

The digitalization of public services is one of the spearhead projects of the Finnish government. This objective is accelerated by the KIRA-digi project, funded by the Finnish state as well as the real estate and construction sector. The KIRA-digi project has started nearly 140 industry-renewing pilot projects that have generated new innovations and businesses. As part of their practical implementations, Tieto offers Empathic Building Core solutions for all public buildings free of charge starting from January 2019. 

“This trial is a great example of promoting experimental culture which will hopefully help to enhance operational efficiency and user experience in public buildings. I look forward to the first applications for example in day-care centers or libraries where this solution has significant potential,” says Hannele Pokka, Permanent Secretary at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.

The Empathic Building Core solution is an Internet-of-Things based solution, which creates a digital twin from the floor plan of the property. The office's digital twin facilitates space planning and improves employee comfort and efficiency.

A location-based solution that facilitates work

The solution can facilitate navigation, especially in public spaces. In hospitals, for example, the solution can make it easier to find the way to the laboratory. In a library, the solution helps you navigate directly to the bookcase you are looking for. The solution also works as a location-based publishing system where administrators and end-users can layer and view useful information on the map. For schools, this can mean timetables for classrooms. At health centers, the solution could provide users location of certain medical devices. The solution also enables collaboration between users, meaning that any discussion platform can be integrated in the Empathic Building solution.

At the next stage, with the help of sensor technology, the Empathic Building Core solution can be augmented for the office environment for even more intelligent solutions. Employees can, for example, share their location with each other, making it easier to find a colleague. In addition, the current booking status of a workstation or conference room can easily be checked from the screen or through the application. Other use cases include air quality and temperature monitoring and creating digital maintenance requests for buildings. 

"The digital dimension brings a whole new user experience to buildings. The Empathic Building makes life easier for people in many ways, and it supports the integration of all open information – if the information is available on the browser, it can basically be combined with the solution. It is fantastic that we can bring the solution to the public spaces – and I believe it represents a big digital leap forward for the public sector,” says Tomi Teikko, head of Empathic Building Solutions at Tieto.

Tampere University of Technology adopts a new tool for research purposes

The new Tampere University will take the Empathic Building Core tool into use in early 2019. The University looks forward for the new tool to opening up a range of new opportunities especially in the field of research.  

”Tieto’s Emphatic Building Core solution will allow us to test our algorithms in real-life settings. It will enable researchers, companies and students to perform quick experiments and thereby foster our culture of experimentation,” says Dean Mika Grundström from Tampere University of Technology. 

“Tampere University of Technology and Tieto have enjoyed strategic research collaboration since 2015 within the National Science Foundation Center for Visual and Decision Informatics, dealing with AI solutions and big data analytics. Research on Intelligent Buildings is an important research topic both in NSF CVDI and VIRPA-D, funded by Tieto and Business Finland,” says Moncef Gabbouj, Professor, Laboratory of Signal Processing at Tampere University of Technology and Director of NSF CVDI Site.

For further information, please contact:

Tomi Teikko, Tieto Empathic Building - Founder, Advisor and Evangelist, tomi.j.teikko@tieto.com, +358 40 500 9400

Tieto Newsdesk, news@tieto.com, +358 40 570 4072

Teemu Lehtinen, Chief Digital Officer, KIRA-digi project, teemu.lehtinen@kiradigi.fi, +358 40 456 6108

Mika Grundström, Dean, Tampere University of Technology, mika.grundstrom@tut.fi, +358 50 554 2343

Tieto aims to capture the significant opportunities of the data-driven world and turn them into lifelong value for people, business and society. We aim to be customers’ first choice for business renewal by combining our software and services capabilities with a strong drive for co-innovation and ecosystems. Headquartered in Finland, Tieto has over 15,000 experts in close to 20 countries. Tieto’s turnover is approximately EUR 1.5 billion and shares listed on NASDAQ in Helsinki and Stockholm. www.tieto.com

KIRA-digi project (2016-2018) is part of the Government key project concerning the digitalisation of public services, which also contributes to the key project concerning improved legal provisions. The responsible ministry for the project is the Ministry of the Environment. The fourteen organisations participating in the KIRA forum are: Association of Finnish Architects' Offices ATL, Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies KVKL, Real Estate Employers, Finnish Construction Managers and Engineers RKL, Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT, Building Information Foundation RTS, Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, Finnish Real Estate Management Federation, Finnish Real Estate Federation, Finnish Association of Civil Engineers RIL, Finnish Association of Consulting Firms SKOL, Electrical Contractors´ Association of Finland STUL, Finnish Association of Building Services Industries, as well as the Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of Education and Culture, Corporate Real Estate Management of the city of Turku, City of Espoo, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, Finnish Environment Institute and National Board of Antiquities. www.kiradigi.fi

The University of Tampere and Tampere University of Technology will merge on 1 January 2019. The new foundation-based Tampere University together with Tampere University of Applied Sciences will form a new higher education community in Tampere with competitive edges in technology, health and society. www.tuni.fi