Virtualized Software Defined Buildings: a Key Enabler of The Future Smart Cities

Abstract

Faced with today’s energetic challenges, the management of Smart Cities is becoming more and more challenging. Local management of individual buildings is proven to be complex and inefficient. A new vision that promotes more flexibility and collaboration between buildings has become a must. In this paper, a new concept, called ”Virtualized Software-Defined Buildings (VSDB)” is introduced. It is presented as a key enabler of future Smart Cities. In fact, through virtualization, it helps in setting up multiple systems independently from the underlying physical infrastructure, offering the needed flexibility at reduced costs. A showcase example is presented to illustrate the potential of this new concept compared to the traditional management solutions.