Internal IoT Solutions and a Chatbot: JetSoftPro’s Smart Office

IoT is so much more than smart activity trackers, thermostats and talking speakers. Businesses are starting to realize that Internet of Things solutions can also improve the way we work. With the help of IoT devices, smart offices simplify their workflows, streamline routine processes and increase data analytics capacities.

JetSoftPro couldn’t resist the temptation to fiddle with IoT technologies. So, we set out to improve our office ecosystem using IoT solutions and a chatbot to make our coworkers more productive. Thanks to the IoT infrastructure at our smart office, JetSoftPro is already making the working environment more comfortable and secure. Find out how we did it and what we plan on doing next.

JetSoftPro Smart Office Concept

What started out as an R&D project is making fundamental changes to our office. We’ve devised an IoT strategy that’s going to help us with energy consumption, time logging, room availability and workplace security. To make it work, we’ll also be using Jetty – our corporate chatbot. Take a look at how IoT and chatbot-enabled changes can help businesses fight operational ordeals that are typical for almost any office.

Energy-Saving

Reports claim that commercial institutions waste as much as 30% of energy. Unfortunately, this is also true for our office: employees forget to turn off the light, air conditioner or electronic appliances too often. We’ve decided to revamp our lighting system to reduce power consumption to a minimum. Motion sensing is going to help us detect when there’s no one in the room and turn the lights and the air conditioner off automatically. The system is going to work after office hours.

Smart lightning can save business owners a lot of operating costs. Thanks to IoT, companies can cut utility bills while keeping the office environment comfortable and eco-friendly. Once companies scale this approach to energy saving, they’ll be able to gather and analyze data from the office’s IoT network. This will allow managers to identify wasteful energy use and take measures to cut the excessive costs.

The technology stack we’re going to use to build this solution:

• Windows IoT
• Azure IoT Hub
• Smart Socket

Making the Working Environment More Comfortable

At JetSoftPro, we appreciate our people. And if IoT can help us improve their experience in the office, we’ll be glad to automate as many routine processes as possible, starting with the office premises and facilities. First, we’ve automated opening a magnetic door with a message to the chatbot. This may sound extra but being able to write a chat message to the bot that will tell the door to open feels very futuristic. The next step is making the chatbot check what meeting rooms are available using motion sensors and verifying requests for days off and vacations.

IoT is a perfect technology for enhancing the work environment. Business can use the technology to keep the office clean, prevent working injuries and even adjust the environment to the weather conditions outside.

The technology stack we’ve used to build this solution:

• Arduino
• Microsoft Bot Framework

Improving Workplace Security and Safety

Security has to be at the heart of any technology-related business. Access monitoring, strict security measures, and a rigorous corporate security policy are mandatory. IoT devices paired with artificial intelligence can help design smart security systems, tailored to specific business needs or security hazards.

JetSoftPro takes security very seriously, so we’re considering to use image recognition for access control. To protect our office from unauthorized admission, we plan to install cameras behind the doors, scan the footage from the cameras and open doors automatically only to the people who have specific permission.

The technology stack we’re going to use to build this solution:

• Microsoft Cognitive Services
• Microsoft Bot Framework
• Raspberry Pi
• Windows IoT

Increasing Employee Productivity

We know that streamlined logging helps to keep track of the hours you’ve worked and the tasks you’ve done. But employees often have trouble logging their work daily. We plan to teach our chatbot to keep an eye on the corporate Jira accounts and monitor if everyone logs their time on time. When someone forgets to log their hours into Jira, the chatbot will send them a reminder in a private Microsoft Teams message. And no working minute will be lost!

 The technology stack we’ve used to build this solution:

• Microsoft Bot Framework
• Jira API

Reducing the HR Workload

Chatbots can help with various HR-related tasks like scheduling meetings, monitoring the professional milestones of employees, answering general brand-related questions, etc. Delegating the trivial but necessary tasks to chatbots can help free up the HR’s hands and mind. Equipped with the Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology, chatbots can satisfy different corporate communication needs following a specified algorithm. A skillful chatbot is easy to talk to and can be almost as good at answering typical (boring) questions as a human would be.

A truly great chatbot is the one you can message just to satisfy your basic communication needs. This is why we designed a chatbot that can engage in casual small talk and even tell jokes. Our corporate chatbot also replies to the most common questions about the company, the internal workflows, and some basic technical questions. We’re really proud that we’ve designed a chatbot our colleagues like to add to favorite contacts.

The technology stack we’ve used to build this solution:

• Azure QnAMaker
• LUIS
• Microsoft Bot Framework
• DialogFlow

Meet Jetty, the JetSoftPro Corporate Chatbot

Most of the things we’ve planned to implement in our smart office would be impossible without Jetty, the beloved corporate chatbot our coworkers talk to every day. Just like an office assistant, Jetty can:

• Open the door
• Answer questions
• Maintain a basic conversational

We designed Jetty as a proof of concept for smart office solutions, and it has never let us down so far. Jetty’s always there to help; she checks the schedules of our employees, answers questions from the Q&A section and can hit you with a couple of jokes.

We created Jetty and set her up with the Microsoft Teams chatbot. It is the main interface for interacting with our Raspberry Pi running windows loT that receives commands from our back end via Azure loT Hub. The Raspberry Pi controls all of the corporate loT devices, including Arduino, smart lamps, plugs, cameras and many more.

The technology stack we’ve used to build this solution:

• Microsoft Bot Framework
• Azure IoT Hub
• LUIS
• DialogFlow
• Windows IoT (Raspberry PI)
• Arduino

What’s Next?

The recent reports expect that the size of the smart office market will reach $46,11 billion by 2023. More extensive use of IoT techniques can make the working environment safer and more efficient, it reduces operational costs and helps business streamline their operational activities.

Currently, we’re working to implement other smart office solutions for energy saving, improving workplace security and reducing the HR workload. As to our favorite Jetty, we’ll enhance her capabilities to check what meeting rooms are available and book them as well as help to control energy consumption. Everyone at the JetSoftPro is pleased with the results of our smart office implementation, and we plan to continually make it smarter. There’s lots of room for improvement.

We believe that IoT-enabled progress is a powerful competitive advantage and a strong attraction for skilled IT professionals. But the most significant benefit of IoT is automation that lets employees focus on their core duties instead of wasting time on routine tasks. Even a minor change brought by an IoT solution can increase the productivity of the entire office.

Stay tuned! More smart features coming soon.

If you have any further question do not hesitate to contact us.