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The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED certification program, developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993, is a rating system for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of environmentally responsible buildings. By 2015, more than 80,000 buildings had received LEED certification for their efficient use of natural resources. Of course, technology plays a big role in certification. If you are traveling to one of the below cities, make sure to gaze upon its iconic LEED architectural genius. They are rated the Top 5 LEED certified in the world…

WILLIS TOWER, CHICAGO (LEED GOLD)

Formerly the Sears Tower, Chicago’s iconic 108-story skyscraper received LEED Gold certification in 2018. Undergoing a $500 million renovation at the time, Willis Tower made a number of significant updates to reduce its carbon footprint, including installing high-efficiency lighting systems, improving the building’s HVAC system, new air media, fan gearboxes, and fan blades on the building’s 4 cooling towers, along with installing low-flow units on over 450 sinks, and 650 toilets and urinals.

TAIPEI 101, TAIPEI, TAIWAN (LEED PLATINUM)

One of the tallest LEED-certified buildings in the world is TAIPEI 101, which towers 1,285 feet above the Taiwanese capital. The megastructure received its LEED Platinum certification in 2011, the highest level possible to attain through the program. The building is designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons and retrofitted with energy-efficient upgrades that reduced its overall energy consumption by 33.41 million kilowatt hours (kWh).

THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY (LEED GOLD)

Another famous skyscraper which has attained LEED certification is New York’s Empire State Building, which was certified LEED Gold in 2011. Thanks to 55 million kWh in carbon offsets purchased by Anthony Malkin of the Empire State Building Company, the building is carbon neutral.

FACEBOOK HEADQUARTERS, MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA (LEED PLATINUM)

The home of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is a sprawling megacomplex in California’s Bay Area, but efforts to incorporate sustainable design elements helped it earn the highest possible LEED certification, LEED Platinum. The social media giant says its HQ is powered 100% by renewable energy, thanks to the 3 megawatts generated by rooftop solar panels. It also says it’s installed the most efficient heating and cooling systems available, and monitors building performance through high-tech building management systems.

THE CRYSTAL, LONDON (LEED PLATINUM)

The Crystal, located on Royal Victoria Dock in east London, is an 18,000 square meter living example of what’s possible with sustainable building technology, billing itself as one of the most sustainable buildings in the world. The uniquely designed structure hosts the world’s largest exhibition on the future of cities. The building’s energy management system is produced by Siemens, and it includes a wide range of energy-efficient features like self-shading facades, solar panels, and ground-source heat pumps which warm the building using 100% natural sources.

Barbara Barclay is a recognized global expert and frequent speaker on eye-tracking and sensor technologies. She lives in Potomac, Maryland, and is the CEO of Somalytics, Inc., an emerging nanotechnology sensor company. Barclay is a proven leader with over two decades of corporate executive experience, including more than 10 years building new markets for eye tracking and sensor technology in areas including automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, defense, healthcare, industrial manufacturing and sports performance. Barclay led the introduction of eye-tracking technology to the U.S. consumer technology market as head of North America operations for global eye-tracking manufacturing leader Tobii Technology.

JEH: What is Somalytics Inc.? BB: malytics is an award-winning nanotechnology innovator enhancing the human experience and improving wellness. The company designed and is producing a new kind of miniature sensor made out of paper that gives product manufacturers a way to pioneer breakthrough advancements in eye tracking, consumer electronics, AR/VR, the Internet of Things, health and wellness, and transportation.

JEH: What kind of new sensor is it? LL: Made of a nano-infused paper composite, Somalytics carbon-nanotube paper composite (CPC™) capacitive sensor — SomaCap™ — is the world’s smallest nanobased capacitive sensor. Miniature and highly sensitive to the human body, it can be used for eye tracking, proximity sensing, gesture control, touch and fluid monitoring.

This technology could be as transformational for the human experience as the mobile phone. The uses are limitless and highly beneficial to improving the human condition and our interactions with the digital world. We are working to build partnerships with major influencers in global markets to rapidly bring this disruptive technology to market, the potential of which is estimated at over $15 billion.

JEH: Why is SomaCap such a game changer for the IoT? BB: SomaCap capacitive sensors range in size from 1 to 11 millimeters and are 100 times smaller, yet more powerful, than other capacitive sensors currently available. Sensitive to the human presence at up to 20 centimeters, the new technology enables more effective touch-free digital interactions. Beyond the small form factor and strength of sensitivity, they are paper-thin, consume little power, and are inexpensive to mass manufacture. Somalytics sensors also do not produce heat, which is extremely important for ensuring user comfort over extended lengths of time for any wearable application.

JEH: How did Somalytics get started? BB: Somalytics launched in November of 2021, spun out of CoMotion at the University of Washington with support from hard science investment firm IP Group Inc., promising to “bring better ‘sense’ to the digital world.”

Somalytics’ patent-pending products were developed at the University of Washington in the laboratory of Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jae-Hyun Chung, Somalytics’ co-founder, and the laboratory of Assistant Professor of Environmental and Forest Sciences Anthony Dichiara. The development of this technology was supported by one of CoMotion’s highly competitive Innovation Gap Fund awards, as well as innovation training initiatives from the NSF I-Corps and CoMotion’s own Idea to Plan Workshop.

Last August, Somalytics announced it received seed funding of $1.9 million to launch mass production of its award-winning new sensor. The funding was led by IP Group Inc. with support from new investor WRF Capital. JEH: What is SomaSleep and how is it different from other consumer products that track sleep? BB: SomaSleep is a first-of-its-kind sleep mask that uses eye tracking to unmask the wellness challenges preventing better sleep by collecting data never before possible through an in-home device. The revolutionary sleep mask can track eye movement, including Rapid Eye Movements, to help consumers better understand sleep stages, quality, and disruptions that are key to wellness insights and improving sleep.

Sleep problems affect the lives of billions of people and understanding the quality of sleep is at the heart of the solution. REM is critical for learning and memory. Things such as snoring, back and leg problems, medication, antidepressants, concussions, stroke and other neurologic illnesses can disrupt sleep and in particular, REM.

Until now the only option to track REM was through sleep centers, where data is typically manually interpreted. With SomaSleep, we are enabling consumers to track all stages of sleep including REM in the comfort and privacy of their own homes through a lightweight, easy to use sleep mask. This is a transformational moment for in-home wellness and our team is thrilled to have a role in bringing to market such an important product.

JEH: How has Somalytics been recognized already for its remarkable new sensor technology? BB: In November, Somalytics was celebrated as an Honoree in the CES 2023 Innovation Awards Embedded Technologies category. CES awards are one of the most prestigious and most competitive technology awards in the world, and this recognition meant so much to our team who have been working on this incredible breakthrough technology for years.

Also, last May, Somalytics was named a finalist in Fast Company’s 6th annual World Changing Ideas Awards in the On the Rise category. The awards program honors innovative initiatives that make the world better.

At CES 2022 last January, Somalytics showcased applications of its new sensor technology for the first time and garnered top accolades as a Best in Show from Android Central and was covered by Wired, ZDNet, Printed Electronics World, Innovation in Textiles, Biometric Update, Embedded, IoT World Today and others.

JEH: What’s next for Somalytics? BB: Our focus now is on moving the manufacturing and distribution process forward to get the sensors out to more OEMs and integrators. We expect by the end of this year to be able to manufacture around 100,000 sensors per month. The possibilities for the innovations and solutions these sensors can offer to a wide range of industries and manufacturers are unlimited, and we look forward to working with leaders across the U.S. and around the world to help them become a reality.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. www.somalytics.com