SMART Elevators & Escalators - Redefining Vertical Transportation.

Smart elevators and escalators equipped with advanced technologies, offer facilities with increased safety and security, improved energy efficiency, and effective crowd management. And in the new normal, vendors have leveraged disruptive techs to provide 'touchless' solutions. Agith G Antony tracks the latest technology trends.

Introduced in the 1800s, elevators and escalators have been the key enabler in the vertical development essential to the urbanization of the cities. India is the second-largest market for elevators and escalators in the world and this sector is anticipated to cross $2 billion by 2023.  IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and embedded technologies have had a huge impact on all verticals, including vertical transportation that has been rising fast due to increasing urbanization, development of the real estate sector, and an increasing number of multi-story residential and commercial buildings across the country. According to the Markets and Markets forecast, the smart elevator market is expected to be worth USD 26.69 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 15.6% between 2016 and 2022. Over the last few years, the smart elevators gained industrial attention as all the leading elevator manufacturers have entered this market.

The IoT Impact

The Internet of Things (IoT) has certainly captivated the attention of the technology and business community, alike. Interestingly, technology has also changed the way buildings are controlled today - they are a lot smarter and more efficient now.  IoT connected elevators and escalators, leading the way in technology and innovation. Leading players in this space have collaborated with recognized leaders in cognitive computing and bringing in breakthrough innovation that  have resulted in fewer faults, faster repairs and peace of mind for the customer. Using the latest technology, the elevators and escalators can now speak their minds and keep technicians one step ahead of what is happening.

“In recent years, we have witnessed that smart technology has been transforming the vertical transportation industry by incorporating advanced technologies that offer facilities with increased security, improved energy efficiency, and effective crowd management. The properties of smart elevators such as low energy consumption and faster operations will have a positive impact on the growth of the market in the coming years.As we continue to navigate through these unprecedented times, touchless technology has been transforming the industry to make built environments healthier,” states Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE Elevator India.

“Urbanization is the main driver for cities and the buildings, and elevators are the spine of a building. We are looking forward to developing future focused technologies as we move ahead and more particularly our IOT systems and service digitalization. A lot of our research is currently focused on advancing our products including eCall, Otis One, cloud-based technologies, mobile applications and other digital offerings for Otis teams and customers across the world. The aim is for Otis to be able to offer the integrated solutions our customers expect and need in todays connected urban world,” states Sebi Joseph, President, Otis India.

Impact of the New Normal

In the new normal, where social distancing has become the new norm, adopting digital solutions has been one of the key tools adopted by KONE India. The company's virtual stall at DiECE exhibits their wide range of future-ready offerings backed by innovative technology, each designed to support its customers as we ease into the new normal.“From elevator call feature using mobile phones to elevator air purifiers and escalator handrail sanitizers, there is a suite of health and wellbeing solutions on display that support people transition into a new normal,” says Gossain. The solutions are built on KONE's deep expertise and knowledge of people flow, which is vital when addressing the challenges of adapting to a new way of life in the face of the current pandemic. KONE health and well-being solutions reduce the need to touch common surfaces like buttons in elevators through elevator remote call which allows users to call an elevator using social messaging channels like WhatsApp. To further reduce concerns over elevator use, KONE has also introduced, in selected markets, the new KONE elevator air purifier.

“Touchless technologies are especially attractive options in this current environment. One example of touchless technology is the Otis eCall™ app,” says Joseph. The app enables passengers to use their cell phone as their personal elevator call button and call an eCall-equipped elevator when approaching it. This helps minimize use of public access elevator buttons. The eCall app also gives building managers the flexibility to provide easy access for passengers. This will offer passengers a more seamless experience within their respective buildings.

In addition to ouchless technology offerings, Otis also offer elevator and escalator purification products and services for customers. Some examples of these include elevator purification fans and handrail sanitizers. “Elevators can be retrofitted with a fan technology that can inactivate microorganisms and filter dust within the cab. The fan integrates an ion generator and ultraviolet lamp to kill germs and filter dust within the cab,” informs Joseph. Fitted on handrails the module is designed to remove germs using ultraviolet light.

Predictive Maintenance

The constant stream of data from the monitoring devices enables manufacturers and other elevator service professionals to diagnose problems as remote monitoring and diagnostics can detect problems in the initial stage itself.  Technologies such as connected technology work by alerting companies on faults when they appear or are about to develop, enabling lift operators to save money and time on repairs. Predictive maintenance allows elevator companies to effectively address and rectify any issue before the elevators break down, thereby reducing downtime.“KONE Elevators has partnered with IBM and launched the KONE 24/7 Connected Services, the world's most intelligent elevator and escalator services that monitor round-the-clock. This breakthrough technology can better monitor, maintain and take action before breakage, thereby ensuring less equipment downtime and fewer faults,” says Gossain. This also allows KONE to tailor the maintenance specific to each individual elevator and escalator where it can detect potential problems even before the maintenance crew visits the site.

“Advanced modelling enables us to assign elevator predictive modelling, and health scores ensure our customers can see more about their equipment health to help plan for future maintenance costs. We are harnessing the power of data analytics, machine learning and cloud computing to understand elevator health prescribe service. With this we are able to analyse trends on our hundreds of thousands of connected elevators to create advanced algorithms that can predict performance trends,” says Joseph.

Energy Efficiency

The ongoing green transformation of the built environment into smart eco-cities, low-carbon communities, and net zero energy buildings also has positively impacted the elevator and escalator industry.  As people are becoming environmentally conscious the industry is witnessing a huge transformation towards elevators and escalators that aid in substantial energy savings with environmentally responsible features.

“I find more customers requesting energy efficient equipment options such as power standby mode. At Otis, we are meeting this call with products like our Gen2® elevators featuring the ReGen® drive. These energy-saving units recycle energy and provide clean power for other building systems to use. They are up 75 percent more energy efficient than traditional elevators with conventional drives,” says Joseph. 

“Increasing energy and resource efficiency is among our top priorities and has an important role in making the most sustainable offering a reality. We are the first elevator company to achieve the best A-class energy efficiency classification for elevator installations, according to the ISO 25745. We also introduced the first-ever gearless elevators that have been substantially saving energy,” says Gossain. According to him KONE's current volume elevator, which is up to 90% more energy efficient compared to KONE elevators from the 1990s. “There is an increase in the demand for cable-free elevators as they are more energy-efficient, thus, they can reduce a building's carbon footprint significantly,” Gossain adds.

Intuitive Technologies

Elevator manufacturers have developed intuitive elevator technologies for increasing the overall commuter experience. Intuitive elevator technologies include smart grouping and destination-based models with modern aesthetics. Smart grouping technology organises commuters by grouping them based on their floor/zone preferences; for example, passengers going to the same destination are assigned only to those elevators that serve that group of floors or zones. This results in much faster and much better organised service.

Design Impact

The design of elevators and escalators has evolved over the years. Elevators can now be hoisted with carbon fibre ropes instead of conventional steel ropes, which are more eco-friendly and durable. The KONE UltraRope(TM) is a completely new hoisting technology that eliminates the disadvantages of conventional steel rope and opens up a world of possibilities in high-rise building design. Comprised of a carbon fibre core and a unique high-friction coating, KONE UltraRope is extremely light, resulting in significant reduction in elevator energy consumption in high-rise buildings.  Due to the significant impact of ropes on the overall weight of elevator moving masses, the benefits of KONE UltraRope increase exponentially as travel distance grows. Otis' global flagship Gen2 technology elevators have replaced traditional steel ropes, with flat and smooth polyurethane belts which offers multiple benefits. It is up to 20% lighter, and lasts up to three times longer than conventional ropes. Unlike the conventional wire ropes that require periodic visual examinations, the belts are monitored 24/7 to check for any anomaly, thanks to the Pulse™ monitoring system that is attached to one end of the belts.

Change in Aesthetics

The industry is also seeing a shift in the way customers evaluate elevator aesthetics. Previously, customers designed their elevator interiors using a menu of colours, materials and finishes made available to them. Today, customers are turning towards theme-based interiors with a package of fixtures designed to be complementary. According to Joseph theme-based interiors provide a more contemporary look and save customers the hassle of trying to match finishes themselves. The future of aesthetics will probably develop to accommodate a desire to have refreshed interiors regularly.

As new ecosystems emerge around smarter cities and smarter buildings there is a huge potential with the integration of building design with elevators, escalators, services and other utilities, in the most sustainable ways possible. KONE’s Design Offering features a collection of car interiors and different materials and accessories that can be combined freely and used in all elevator products. With trendy colours, materials, finishing and unique patterns, the elevators can complement the building’s architecture, providing enhanced functionality and accessibility at the same time, according to Gossain.

The Way Forward

As urbanisation drives the increased need for housing, the need for smart and efficient technologies to support growth is a must. As of August 2020, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has 7.17 billion sq. ft of registered real estate under development as 'Green'. This constitutes over 5,918 registered projects. Developers and building owners are becoming environmentally conscious and thereby aim for green certifications like LEED and others. This augurs well for the vertical transportation sector, especially for smart and intelligent and sustainable solutions, a key enabler in the process of urbanisation of cities.

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