Top Innovations of 2024

A new way to automate building management  

What it is: Technology designed to automate building management and enhance energy efficiency using automation and machine learning.

Why it's innovative: The platform, Advance Control for Buildings, marks one of Honeywell's most substantial leaps in building control innovation to date. By pushing the boundaries of technological advancement, Advance Control helps building managers optimize operations, improve occupant experience and advance energy management goals. The system helps address the mounting pressures around safety, operational efficiency and energy efficiency in buildings.

AI-powered digital assistant for workers

What it is: An AI-powered solution being developed by Honeywell and Qualcomm Technologies to offer a digital resource for the modern labor force in retail and distribution centers. The Multi-Modal Intelligent Agent is designed to provide workers quick access to answers in the form of images, videos, spoken responses and text, helping them complete work more efficiently.

Why it's innovative: This solution helps today's stretched workforce save time and achieve greater accuracy by allowing them to ask questions like, "Where can I find this particular item in the store?" and receive responses in multiple formats. This innovation will not only make workers' jobs easier, but also help businesses deliver a stellar experience for their customers, driving digital transformation and enhancing operational efficiency.

The power of digital to enhance utility operations

What it is: A digital platform powered by Honeywell Forge that leverages advanced technologies, software and services to enhance operational performance across all business areas, helping to deliver safer, more efficient and reliable benefits while supporting the entire utility value chain.

Why it’s innovative: Utilities can monitor assets, identify root causes and use predictive analytics for proactive grid management. This platform supports automation processes such as demand response and distributed energy resource management, which helps increase grid reliability and stability. By providing near real-time insights and a “bottom-up” forecast of energy demand and supply, it enables utilities to better balance energy supply and demand, contributing to overall grid reliability and resiliency.

Faster barcode scanning with the help of AI

What it is: Honeywell’s first barcode scanner that implements AI to enhance scanning performance for industrial operations.

Why it's innovative: In fast-paced environments like warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing plants, every second counts. The Granit Ultra system integrates high-speed processing, AI algorithms and decoding enhancements to result in an average 45% scanning speed increase compared to the previous model, the Granit XP*.¹ This enables improved productivity for the workforce and greater efficiency for businesses. 

Alerts designed to enhance runway safety 

What it is: Surface Alert, or SURF-A, software helps prevent runway collisions between aircraft and generates text and sound alerts in the cockpit to give pilots the time they need to recognize hazards and take corrective action.

Why it’s innovative: With air travel passenger numbers surpassing pre-pandemic levels, airports and runways are busier than ever. Runway safety is critical for the industry, in the U.S. and around the world, which has seen an increase in close calls or near-collisions during taxi, takeoff and landing in recent years. Honeywell’s SURF-A software provides timely alerts to pilots directly in the cockpit so they can take quick action to avoid a potential disaster. It uses the power of GPS data, advanced analytics and sophisticated algorithms to identify other aircraft on or near the runway that could cause a collision on the runway.

More accurate weather observations

What it is: The High Altitude LiDAR Atmospheric Sensing (HALAS) technology is a remotely operated, ground-based weather information system that uses laser pulses to provide near real-time, high-altitude atmospheric data with more accuracy than traditional weather balloons. 

Why it’s innovative: Enhanced weather predictions are crucial for aviation operations – think landing and takeoff operations, and air traffic control – as well as governments, businesses and individuals. HALAS enables forecasters to obtain weather data on wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature and density from more than 100,000 feet above the surface of the Earth.

Real-time engine monitoring and predictive maintenance

What it is: The first end-to-end digital maintenance solution for Honeywell business jet turbofan engines. It automatically downloads and transmits engine information to analyze and track engine conditions after every flight in near-real time.

Why it’s innovative: Imagine you're a pilot who used to manually check engine performance after every flight, which was time-consuming and prone to errors. With Honeywell Ensemble, engine data is automatically collected and transmitted via Wi-Fi to a cloud-based platform, where it is analyzed to provide timely insights and alerts. This automation can not only reduce manual reporting but also helps identify potential issues before they disrupt flight operations, enabling improved aircraft uptime.

Plug load management solution for buildings

What it is: Technology designed to monitor, manage and automate power usage at the plug level in buildings 

Why it’s innovative: Think about it – you’re probably not wondering what happens to the coffee machines and printers left on at the office after 8 p.m. and on the weekend. With Connected Power, Honeywell introduced a solution to help manage this issue. Now, decision-makers can shut off lights, coffee pots and printers via automation when no one is in the office. This helps buildings reduce their pricey power usage and, ultimately, help reduce carbon emissions. Connected Power also provides valuable insights into energy consumption, identifying areas where energy is being used inefficiently and enhancing both energy efficiency and safety.

From trash to SAF: Technology making it possible

What it is: A technology that produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biogas, CO₂ and wastes such as municipal solid waste, crop leftovers, wood waste and food scraps. The hydroprocessing technology can make SAF that is 90% less carbon-intensive than traditional fossil-based jet fuels and complies with the strict standards of the aviation industry.²

Why it's innovative: This technology takes liquids and waxes from processed biogas, CO₂ and wastes to produce SAF that meets the strict standards of the aviation industry with a lower environmental impact. This innovation expands the feedstock options available for SAF production, helping to meet the growing demand for renewable jet fuel and supporting the aviation industry's goal of reducing carbon emissions.

Check-in to comfort: Smart temperature control for hotel spaces

What it is: A new system for hotels that identifies empty spaces and autonomously adjusts the temperature without impacting consumer comfort, all from a single platform. 

Why it’s innovative: Empty hotel rooms and common areas do not need the same level of heating or cooling – and unrented hotel rooms can be set to a specific setting that can be heated or cooled to a more comfortable temperature once a guest checks in. If a guest leaves a room for an extended time, INNCOM Direct can change the temperature to a more energy-efficient temperature that is then automatically adjusted when the guest returns.