As we all are well aware, the climate crisis poses a significant challenge for the whole world. Environmental scientists and the United Nations organization constantly warn us about the irreversible dangers a 2-degree temperature rise would have on the ecological balance. Acid rains, catastrophic hurricanes, melting of glaciers and vast regions across the world on the brink of desertification are now real threats. And climate change is becoming a priority issue for policymakers as well as industrial leaders, which can still mitigate some of the potential disasters by radically transforming the economic system.

Factories and facilities consume a considerable percentage of the energy produced in a country, releasing into the atmosphere carbon pollution which increases the greenhouse effect, namely the warming of Earth’s surface. A Business Insider article revealed in 2015, how commercial, industrial and residential buildings in the USA generate annually around $200 billion energy wastes and 34% of greenhouse gas emissions. The most advanced and sophisticated technological innovations of our century can help to slow down, if not stop global warming, using Big Data, AI, and IoT. Monitoring technologies, affordable sensor, and the growing digitization of companies can help cut missions while maintaining a high level of efficiency. Within Silicon Valley, Nasa is one of the most high-tech organizations committed on the environmental front. Its centers host highly innovative startups helping them with its technologies and network, if necessary.

Founded in 2012 at Nasa Ames in California, with a mission to sustain and enrich human life through responsive energy intelligence, Verdigris is one of the world’s AI leading startups, focused on optimizing operations and energy consumption in manufacturing, industrial and commercial buildings. Their core technology combines magnetic sensors with machine-learning techniques to detect and predict appliances level energy and waste, providing minutely data and helping their clients save up to 30% energy bill in a completely automated way. Over 40 top tier enterprise clients across 13 countries in manufacturing, distribution, and hospitality use their IoT energy meter and platform to save energy, reduce costs, minimize downtime, and improve sustainability metrics. Companies like ABB, Amazon, Hyatt, and Verizon have already implemented it to achieve industry-leading energy performance.

Thomas Chang, Product Manager at Verdigris

Design Group Italia (DGI), a leading design firm which boasts more than 25 years of experience in energy-related projects, both in the digital and industrial sector, met Verdigris while working together on a project for ABB, multinational corporation leader in the energy field. Thinking Augmented Reality could benefit Verdigris solution, DGI contacted JoinPad, an Augmented Reality company born in Italy with more than ten years of experience in AR, AI, IoT, and design in the industrial sector, and also their long-term partners in business. JoinPad enterprise started in 2011, presenting a pioneering Wearable Augmented Reality application on smart glasses for diagnostics and maintenance of industrial equipment in Las Vegas. Since then, AR has become a critical tool to increase efficiency in any industrial process ranging from MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) to logistics and training. Intuitive 3D interfaces provide and allow to share accurate, contextual, real-time information directly in the users’ field of view for fast,  outstanding, operational results. Furthermore, many companies that have implemented AR solutions also reduce downtimes by 30% and save costs up to 75% while improving collaboration, productivity, and work quality. The micro-hackathon has been the perfect opportunity to show how AR integrates well with Verdigris’ AI systems to enhance energy management of buildings.