2022 Elevator Industry News and Trends
Only thing that’s permanent is CHANGE and that’s quite true when it comes to technology. New innovations are taking place every day which we don’t even seem to notice. Elevators are no different, especially with people gradually returning to offices and life coming back to normal. Whilst we’re slowly adapting to our new world, Elevator ride must evolve to keep up with the pandemic.
The real challenge now is to minimise the risk of contact with other passengers which is shaping the elevator industry, it’s experiencing several game-changing adaptations that could revolutionise the way elevators operated historically. Elevator passengers are also becoming more conscious of hygiene & safety standards and to fulfil this new demand, leading manufacturers in the vertical transportation industry are working on solutions to enhance rider safety and offer a better experience.
In this blog we’re going to take a explore where the elevator industry is heading in the foreseeable future.
Contactless Technologies
In order to minimise transmission, leading manufacturers have developed several contactless technologies. Floor selection via Voice Commands has been marketed as an option. Mobile apps are being developed to allow users to control elevators. Contactless Elevator buttons are also available on the market which do not require passengers to physically touch the buttons. Foot buttons are also being marketed as an alternative.
Purification and Sanitisation
New sanitisation and air purification products have emerged in the market. Proven medical technologies like Ionising air conditioners and UV light globes are being introduced in this space. In the modernisation area existing installations are being retrofitted with new technologies. Escalators are also getting similar upgrades; UV globes are also being used to sanitise escalator handrail.
AI elevators
Moving into the future of in-person maintenance calls are bound to increase with the number of visitors to a building. Over the last decade, advances in AI have changed elevators and escalators beyond their everyday function of moving people travel up and down with speed and comfort. They have become more intelligent since now they are connected to the cloud where the data is collected, analysed and stored. They use special algorithms and perform sophisticated manoeuvres. For example, if it is known that at 9 am, a lot of people will be in 3rd floor to drink to get their coffee, the elevators will have to be ready to prioritise 3rd floor.
Real-time insights can be drawn from AI elevators and analytics can also be used to make predictive maintenance runs and ensure there is greater communication between customers and equipment. Sophisticated cloud-based analytics systems and results are processed in order to create meaningful insights. Artificial Intelligence for maintenance services help predict and suggest resolutions to potential problems before they happen.
Intelligent destination dispatch systems gather information which helps in efficient people flow. This digitally operated system allocates passengers to specific elevators, often grouping those travelling to the same or nearby floors to avoid crowding, thus enabling social distancing. The smart dispatching system minimises the number of stops per trip, reduces car crowding and decreases travel times by limiting the number of passengers assigned to each elevator.
Mobile Apps
Mobile phone apps are being developed that will allow passengers to register for an elevator when they are within a certain distance from a given bank of elevators within a building. This app will give passengers safety and comfort of not having to contact public use elevator buttons. Once inside the elevator, the passenger will choose from their mobile screens the specific floor they wish to reach.
Speed and Safety
Elevators are becoming not just safer but faster over time. In tall skyscrapers, travelling from ground floor to the top floor can take a lot of time. The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia when completed will be the tallest building in the world with a floor count of 168! The building will have a total of 59 elevators, five of which will be double-deck elevators. These elevators will travel at 10 metres (33 feet) per second (36 km/h or 22 mph) in both directions and are capable of reaching top floor from the ground floor in less than a minute.
Sustainable Technologies
As the awareness for sustainable technology increases, the demand for environmentally friendly technology is also gathering pace. Often developers are looking to achieve ‘Green’ certifications for their projects and the elevator industry can contribute towards this aim. Many of today’s major elevator components can be used to help save energy. Independent solutions like destination control, variable frequency drives, gear-less traction motors, LED lighting, standby modes, old DC motors are now being replaced with AC motors, are other examples of how the industry is providing solutions to create a sustainable future.
Thank you for reading our short blog, we hope you found it informative.
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