**2. Lift system communications: current status and potential developments**

The richness of information and the potential diversity of interactions with external systems is much greater for passenger lift systems than for escalators and walkways and so this section refers mainly to lifts. However, a truly smart building will integrate communications with all transportation systems wherever practicable – probably a subset of what is possible for the lifts. In this section we look at what is currently available (discussed in greater detail in CIBSE Guide-D [3]) whilst casting an eye to potential developments that are within sight.

#### **2.1 Current state of development**

At the time of writing, a new generation of lift technology is appearing that embodies capabilities to communicate beyond the lift motor room through an expanding range of applications and interfaces.1 Previously the lift system user interface has been specifically aimed at the primary users, i.e. the passengers, via simple electrical devices such as call buttons, floor position indicators, hall direction indicators and gongs, etc. The introduction of computer technology and networked communication between devices has lead to an increasing complexity of the hardware of lift control equipment and also its associated passenger controls (e.g. destination call stations). At the same time, the new technology has promoted more sophisticated software in the form of control algorithms as well as a proliferation

<sup>1</sup> Inclusion (or omission) of references to manufacturers' products is purely for example and does not represent endorsement (nor rejection) of those products.

*Standard Elevator Information Schema: Its Origins, Features and Example Applications DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92552*

of external systems which collect, process and distribute the resulting complex and rich information.

Lift manufacturers [4–8] and third-party suppliers [9–14], sometimes in collaboration with major companies providing software and services (such as Microsoft and IBM), are developing new products and services which interconnect many lift installations concurrently thereby considerably extending the types of user that can interact in some way with a lift installation. The following subsections briefly discuss the different classes of internal and external systems that may be interconnected, identify the user roles that could benefit as a result and outline how these benefits might be delivered to those users.

#### **2.2 Data logging**

Data logging is in essence the capability to create and record a stream of data describing the activity of the lifts and their current status. As such, it should not be considered independently of external applications which then analyse and present the data. From the earliest days of data logging, and particularly since it became viable to install logging as a permanent feature rather than a commitment of expensive equipment only justifiable for a few days, it was acknowledged that the volume and diversity of the logged data necessitated a repeatable and automated (i.e. software-based) analysis.

Most modern lift control systems include some form of data logging, although this is usually in a proprietary format and available only to the staff of the manufacturer for the purposes of test, installation and maintenance. For older installations, a number of generic gateway devices are available from independent suppliers, which sample commonly available electrical signals and buses and in some cases additional sensor devices (e.g. accelerometer) to generate a stream of logged data, but again in a proprietary format. However, as building owners are increasingly demanding access to logged data of their lift activity (since they are in any case the designated owners of that data under Data Protection legislation) it is becoming common practice to include a requirement in the specification of new installations and refurbishments for some form of gateway that allows the connection of third-party logging systems [15] where the owner specifies the data format.

Data logging operates at several different levels, where access is restricted to persons possessing different skill sets and purposes:

**Maintenance staff on site** – to interrogate and alter system parameters and systems technicians able to update software and trouble-shoot. This data might include door timing, parking and priority floors and zone definitions, etc. More recently, device-specific operational 'signatures' (e.g. temperature, vibration, door operation counts, etc.) have been logged, which are used to identify abnormalities and drift due to wear and failure in specific components. There is an emerging trend of linking to advanced on-line web services that offer automated analysis and 'learning by example', enabling lift manufacturers to evolve their service offering and to drive preemptive maintenance scheduling. This analysis is of particular benefit to centralised maintenance managers and technicians who arrive on site better informed and provisioned with spares.

**Owners/operators** – to access performance data allowing analysis of how well the lift installation is managing the passenger demands, and duration of periods when lifts are unavailable etc. This data might include the number of stops, number of landing calls and their origins, car calls, system response times and an analysis of the demand patterns in terms of landing calls. Interest is growing in monitoring

and reporting the energy consumption of building transportation systems. Remote display (possibly in the lobby or building manager's office of the relevant building) of centrally held information is often also offered.

**Maintenance management off-site** – to review the operation of the lift, check any irregular behaviour and to plan a service schedule matching the duty cycle of each lift. Also to provide a 'forensic record', helping to establish the reason for a lift failure. Such data would include: fault and warning indications such as the safety circuit being interrupted prematurely, doors failing to open, abnormal journey duration, excessive re-levelling operations, door lock failures, machine and machine-space temperatures, etc. A number of major manufacturers [5–8] and a growing number of independent suppliers [9–14] offer remote monitoring services and display of lift status with real-time visual display of car and door activity plus registered calls.

**Architects, transportation system designers and researchers** – may use logged data to specify new installations or refurbishments for planning and subsequent assessment of traffic handling capacity and suitability of control policies matching the particular demands of a building. The data to support this would include the number and timing of landing calls (particularly in the case of destination calls), car calls, floor position, direction commitments and door operations of lifts, passenger loading, the allocation of lifts to respond to calls, etc. If data collection is fully comprehensive, it may be possible to replay lift operation into a traffic simulation program, closing the loop between traffic simulation for planning and what is happening in the actual installation [16]. A less data-intensive approach is discussed later in this chapter (Section 7, Example 4).

#### **2.3 Remote control**

Remote control concerns a very carefully controlled flow of data in the opposite direction to data-logging (i.e. from the external environment to the lift controllers and associated displays). The safety of passengers must first be thoroughly assessed for risks in the context in which the control is to be used – for example simply including a remote control to return all lifts to an entry floor of a hospital might put patient lives at risk.

**Maintenance management off-site** – A car or landing call may be entered to check that a lift is in service. No form of direct remote control, other than that available locally to passengers, is allowed as this could jeopardise passenger safety, for example if the security of the system were to be compromised through a cyber attack.

**Intending passengers** – With the increasing use of destination control traffic control systems a more personalised lift service may be provided to passengers. Call-stations are no longer restricted to lobby locations. For example, applications have been developed to allow calls to be registered from personal mobile devices enabling improved planning of call allocations and reducing queues for call registration, these are often linked to building access control [17, 18]. Requests need not be limited to human passenger traffic – a recent press-release [19] announced the development of a robot delivery agent that could distribute supplies and accompany visitors within a building (e.g. hospital, hotel, office), which is able to register calls for lift travel between floors.

**Travelling passengers** – Public information displays and announcements may be provided to passengers [20–22] notifying both waiting and travelling passengers of the services, facilities and events on the floors which they may select as a destination, or to which they are already travelling. A second type of user interface may be required which provides a management system allowing both general and

*Standard Elevator Information Schema: Its Origins, Features and Example Applications DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92552*

targeted information (e.g. based on destination floors, etc.) to be prepared and updated before presentation to one or more groups of users (e.g. in a multi-tenanted building).

**Machine to machine** – In future it is likely that remote applications will be able to update, within strictly defined limits, a limited range of high-level parameters (e.g. parking and priority floors, zones, energy consumption targets, etc.) in the lift controllers thereby linking smart cities and buildings to influence lift performance. Such remote applications would use artificial intelligence to 'learn' the optimal parameter settings based on external conditions (e.g. weather, calendar, traffic, etc.). It is even possible that other more general sources (e.g. anonymised social media discussions) could be interpreted automatically, enabling members of the public freely to provide information which could lead to modification of the operation of the services that they use, though probably without the deliberate intention of doing so.
