“Innovate” is the Word

While AI continues to be the main character in the innovation conversation (and a magnet for venture capital cash), the honeymoon of everyone asking ChatGPT to do ridiculous things is pretty much over. But progress never sleeps, and 2024 was a year of some pretty amazing inventions: a mental health mirror, a computer you wear on your face and targeted hearing aids. That last one sounds good to me — it lets you hear the person you are interested in and shut the rest of the world out. These are just a few things that were invented last year, and they are just steppingstones in advancement.

The vertical-transportation (VT) industry has not been “asleep at the wheel” in the innovation game. Our Focus this month is Digitalization, and a record seven articles came in, each providing a close-up view of how we “Innovate.”

• Transforming Elevator Pit Inspections and Proposal Generation by Rick Rawlinson. Joint Seal Waterproofing uses a special inspection app and a hands-free helmet to enhance efficiency.
• Turning Elevator Sensor Data Into Actionable Insights by CEDES. Capturing data from sensors directly offers universal Internet of Things establishment in every elevator.
• Fujitec’s DX by Kenji Tomooka. The OEM envisions a digital twin of the elevator system that collects and optimizes data in real time.
• Toward a Maintainable Future by Amy Blankenbiller. Digitalization will enable an ever-smarter, predictable and customer-focused elevator industry.
• AI in VT by ELFIN Technology. AI innovations include many sensors on both elevators and escalators, giving feedback on the instant service is needed.
• An Exploration of Elevator Cloud Solutions by Chao Du, Hao Gao and Jian Cao. The safe operation of 20 million elevators worldwide is difficult without computer data that instantly informs us of needs and activity.
• The Power of Data by Anas Siddiqui. AI is a powerful tool for analyzing vast amounts of data and presenting actionable insights — like issuing a work order.

We also offer a Continuing Education article, a CE worth 1 h, that fits right into the focus of digitalization. A Tale of Two Testing Methods by Kevin Heling is part one of two CEs on the new way to do Category 5 testing of elevators without the use of weights and carts. The method has been accepted in North America and is pending elsewhere.

Our cover feature is a beautiful lift, Combining Accessibility With Elegance. Installed by Stannah in Castle Cary, U.K., the hydraulic elevator runs from the Creamery restaurant to the rail station.

Sun, Surf and a Symposium by Angie C. Baldwin is another feature. The subject of the International Elevator & Escalator Symposium was Consolidation and Globalization Impact on Maintenance and Safety, but the setting of the event in the Bahamas set the tone. Other features this month include Rising Above, a rack-and-pinion elevator in a harbor control tower in Genoa, Italy; and Up, Up and Away, in which TK Elevator showcases a major VT project in the U.A.E.

If innovation, digitalization and AI don’t do it for you, try a little romance (see our Last Glance) on the back page. We hope you enjoy this very full issue. Either way, let me know at ricia@elevatorworld.com.