SHANGHAI, Aug. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Elevator & Escalator Expo 2020 is being held in Shanghai from August 18th to 21st. Hitachi Elevator is taking part in the event with cutting-edge solutions for the 5G IoT era: intelligent buildings manned by smart elevators powered by big data- and cloud services-based command and control systems.
Supporting ongoing COVID-19 prevention and control efforts
Following the outbreak of the pandemic, the elevator became a focal point of public health concerns as it is, by nature, a vehicle meant to transport several people within a compact space. Hitachi Elevator showcases its latest touchless elevators alongside a lineup of sterilization and disinfection devices for escalators at the event.
The touchless elevators can be summoned by means of gestures, voice, face recognition, a mobile app and a WeChat mini-app, avoiding the need to press or, in any way, make contact with the surface of an elevator button.
As for the voice option, the control system of the touchless series is able to understand and respond to voice-activated commands, including summoning the elevator and indicating the desired floor, not only in Mandarin and multiple Chinese dialects but also in many of the world's languages, removing barrier to installation and deployment of the elevators worldwide.
The face recognition option goes the furthest in empowering COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, as it enables passenger registration while checking the temperature of every person before they are allowed to board the elevator via mobile infrared thermometry.
Based on years of experience with smart buildings as well with the R&D and application of elevator IoT, Hitachi Elevator took only one week to complete the development and design of the touchless elevators and has already installed several of the units in some of their clients' buildings, making the elevator maker one of the earliest and most comprehensive providers of the conveyances in China. The company has also set an example in providing several feasible cases for COVID-19 prevention and control in a short period of time.
Boosting on-demand maintenance services
This April, China's State Administration for Market Regulation issued a circular with the aim of enhancing smart regulation and social oversight of elevators. According to the circular, a coordination system for the standardization of elevator IoT, together with a unified approach to elevator IoT systems, is recommended as the path to achieving the data interconnection of elevator IoT.
Hitachi Elevator, one of the industry's earliest providers of elevator IoT, showcases its latest on-demand maintenance solutions, each of which achieves data interconnection between clients, the big data system, maintenance facilities and spare parts centers via its cloud service center, ELECLOUD®, while supporting a remote monitoring terminal on each elevator to ensure safe operation.
The ELECLOUD service center can perform over 600 AI-based pre-diagnoses of the components of an elevator. At the expo, engineers demonstrated how a proactive approach to maintenance by monitoring the status of an elevator with a focus on the number of rides within a certain period, the operating environment and the life cycle of the components can prevent riders from getting stuck in the elevator due to an unanticipated halt or breakdown. The presentation showed that the pre-diagnosis technology reduced unanticipated breakdowns by 65% while allowing customers to reduce monitoring costs associated with improper and unsafe use of elevators by over 90%.
The company has completed the construction of an IoT service platform for elevator maintenance in collaboration with over 20 government offices in prefecture-level cities and property management firms across China, paving the way for further adoption of its on-demand maintenance services throughout the country.
Building an intelligent building transportation system
With the increasing adoption of AI, IoT and 5G technologies, the traditional elevator industry has embarked on a digital transformation backed by smart technologies. Elevator IoT technology is poised to create a better human-machine interaction experience.
During the exhibition, Hitachi Elevator showcased the next-generation smart product platform HPES, which empowers passenger, freight, hospital and sightseeing elevators, among other application scenarios, with intelligent operation control and safety technologies in tandem with a smart passenger-oriented solution designed to deliver a comfortable and safe experience.
During the elevator ride, passengers are kept informed of the status of the elevator, a key factor in ensuring a high-quality travel experience. In view of situations that may occur when passengers are in an elevator, Hitachi Elevator leverages a combination of text, photos and voice alerts delivered by a color LCD display to convey necessary information about diverse changes in the status of the elevator, the building and the external environment in real time, while providing timely and necessary tips on best practices for elevator safety.
The company also displayed a visual escalator management solution enhanced by smart devices, cameras and big data technologies. Taking into account the need to handle high passenger throughput while maximizing the uptimes required by urban rail transit systems, Hitachi Elevator provides a visual safety management system designed to intelligently detect and analyze people flow. A key feature of the system is the cameras on the site that constantly monitor the movement of people on the escalator and analyze the data derived from the monitoring to quickly identify potential safety risks. In the event that the monitoring equipment detects hazardous overcrowding, or a passenger having gotten stuck or fallen, the safety management system will instantly link with the escalator control system to initiate safe operation mode and avoid harm to any rider.
In the 25 years since Hitachi Elevator entered the Chinese market, the firm has played a part in the country's urbanization process in line with the growth of the economy. Looking ahead, the company plans to leverage its integrated urban management solution to further promote the development of Chinese cities by facilitating the construction of smart cities and accelerating the next stage of economic development based on enhancing the quality of life for all.
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