International Publications
Bio-Diverse Smart Cities of the Future
2020
This article elaborates how to increase biodiversity in a city and how technology could help. You find the article here.
Smart cities must pay more attention to the people who live in them
2019
Around 68% of the global population might live in urban areas by 2050. Smart cities will likely be a part of this future, promising to make our lives more convenient, more secure and more sustainable.
Mostly, the stakeholders of smart city projects are politicians, consultants, academics and tech companies. However, the most important group of stakeholders is often missing: the ordinary citizens that will have to live in these transformed cities.
Tech-Enhanced Permaculture - Innovating Agriculture
2019
By combining technology, permaculture, sustainable policies and consumer behaviour, we could heal our planet, reduce our blood pressure and feed 10 billion people. Read here, how it might be done.
Is your smart home as safe as you think?
2018
This article dives into cybersecurity in the built environment and addresses several issues that need to be solved. Real the article in the WEF Agenda.
What impact will automation have on our future society?
2018
"We often hear from technology entrepreneurs, futurists, and some media outlets, that automation will lead to a bright future. At the same time, there is a significant number of intellectuals, politicians and journalists depicting doomsday scenariosfor our automated future.
Much of the current debate is shaped by these extreme hypotheses. You are either in favour of automation and everything that comes with it, or against it. This is astonishing, since similar discussions were already led in the pre-internet age about similar topics. We currently repeat them without providing new solutions.
It is worth looking at four scenarios for our future with differing automation intensities, to stimulate a broader discussion that does not just address extreme opinions, but also the spectrum in between." Read the full article here.
Automation is more complex than people think. Here’s why
2017
"Automation is a topic on which most people have an opinion. The level of knowledge on the subject varies greatly, as does the amount of fear that people feel towards the technological revolution that is taking place.
I get the impression that even informed writers - including myself - in this field often take, for numerous reasons, convenient short-cuts when it comes to writing and talking about automation.
It is therefore time to address the abundance of factors that are influencing and will continue to influence how humanity moves forward with automation. It is an intertwined and complex network of factors that allow for multiple outcomes. This article will shine the light on a selection of these parameters." Read the full article here.
How automation and technology will change the buildings we live in
2017
"Our built environment and its entire value chain are in the wake of a severe transformation. Artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, robotics and other technologies are not only responsible for the emergence of smart cities, automated processes and new business opportunities, but a change to the rules underpinning the real estate industry.
The impact of technological disruption on this industry transcends the possible automation of construction or robotic substitution of real estate agents. Technological innovation will prolong our life expectancy, severely alter the job market and affect our ecosphere and social life. How will these broader consequences shape our built environment?"
Read the full article via the World Economic Forum Agenda.
The Synergetic Smart City Framework — From Idea to Reality
2017
The underlying goal of this article is to highlight issues in current smart city approaches, find common success factors of established projects and to create a framework based on these findings, which should lay ground for future smart city concepts and research.
The article was published in Real Estate Issues - Special Issue – Global Cities in an Era of Change 2016 based on conference papers from SPIRE's Real Estate Conference in Stanford at the University of Stanford. Read the paper here.
How Robots Will Disrupt Real Estate
2017
Sensor-enabled houses, roads with charging stations, and even entire cities must provide space for the robots that will work for us, which means changing usage and planning processes. Automation will likely cause tremendous shifts in employment, which could lead to rapid change in consumer demand patterns. Read more implications of robotics in real estate at RealtorMag.
The Disruptive Power of Blockchain
2016
The technology behind Bitcoin can do a lot more than just transfer funds. Learn how blockchain distributed databases will change real estate transactions for good, and how you can take advantage of this shift. Read more at RealtorMag.
5 disruptive technologies that will shape real estate
2016
In our article for Inman, we introduced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, synthetic biology, 3D printing and sensors in the context of real estate. Futhermore, we elaborated implications and possible scenarios. Read the full article here.
An Intellectual Game: Innovation & Land Ownership
2016
This article addresses the issues regarding the ongoing urbanisation in the light of the forecasted demographic development. We have conceptualised multiple scenarios of varying likelihood as well as feasibility. Yet, there might a solution to the conundrum: Technologicial Innovation. Read our hypotheses and bold ideas at the Indian Economist.
How AI Can Boost, Not Disrupt, Your Business
2016
This article explains possible applications of artificial intelligence for real estate brokerages and other industry professionals. It elaborates on algorithmic seller and buyer matching, automation of legal as well as financial due diligences using Natural Language Processing and AI powered, personalized marketing. Read the full article at RealtorMag.
Disrupt or Be Disrupted
2016
The implications of big data, drones, and augmented reality for real estate agents and brokers cannot be ignored. In fact, real estate can even profit from these potentially disruptive innovations if they have the right tools. Read more about this in RealtorMag.
