Elevator Usage Research Articles

Optimization of Elevator Usage by Image Processing for Optimal Energy Conservation

An efficient vertical transit system is a crucial feature of contemporary office buildings. Modern machine learning (ML) algorithms make it simple to optimise lift control strategies. This study proposes a revolutionary way to use Raspberry Pi camera module data for the best possible dispatching of traditional passenger lifts. It is assumed that an image processing system processes a real-time video to ascertain the quantity of people and objects utilising the lifts and waiting for a lift vehicle in the halls. These numbers are assumed to be connected to a specific uncertain probability. The efficiency of our unique lift control algorithm is derived from the need to serve a crowded floor completely, sending as many lifts as possible there and filling them to the maximum weight permitted, in addition to the probabilistic utilisation of the number of people and/or items waiting. The suggested technique introduces the idea of the effective number of persons and items to account for the uncertainty that may arise from the image processing system's imperfection. Reducing wait time, energy conservation and optimization are main the goals of this research. The proposed approach was implemented, and the simulation results showed that the passenger journey time was reduced. A three-story office building was the intended application for the prototype model. Key Words: Elevator, Raspberry Pi, Machine Learning, Optimization, Image Processing

Design of Non-Intrusive Online Monitoring System for Traction Elevators

With the increase in elevator usage, more and more elevator real-time monitoring equipment is being applied to the operation of elevators. Traditional elevator monitoring equipment adopts a multi-sensor decentralized installation and layout, and the monitoring accuracy is low, which directly affects the effective alarm of the monitoring system; however, existing online monitoring systems cannot quickly alarm for faults. Aiming to solve the above problems, an elevator online monitoring system based on narrow-band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is designed. The system is highly integrated with an STM32 main control chip, a six-axis acceleration gyroscope sensor, and an air pressure sensor to realize the edge calculation of the monitoring system. At the same time, this paper eliminates the temperature drift of the pressure sensor by using a temperature compensation algorithm and inputs the extracted characteristic parameters into the BP neural network for training to eliminate the zero drift so as to obtain the real-time height data of the elevator. The six-axis acceleration gyroscope sensor is used to calculate the posture so as to avoid the problem that a three-axis acceleration sensor or a three-axis gyroscope sensor alone cannot obtain accurate posture data. In order to further improve the monitoring accuracy, the peak-to-peak value of the signal is calculated by using a 95% confidence interval algorithm to reduce the suppression of the high-frequency components of the signal by noise and ensure that the signal has a large signal-to-noise ratio so that the obtained elevator car posture and vibration operation data are more accurate. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by experiments.

MirrorVision: Light-Weight Floor Detection System for an Autonomous Robot in a Crowded Elevator

Delivering robots impact many facets of our life, including food delivery and restaurant services, with advancements enabling obstacle overcome, faster delivery, and minimizing human intervention. However, delivering robots remained to experience poor vertical mobility-elevator usage in multi-floor buildings. Incorporating new elevator models into the robot’s elevator usage capabilities involves a long process of manufacturer approval and authentication. Furthermore, strict fire-code regulations pose communication barriers between the robot and the elevator. In this paper, we introduce MirrorVision-a novel approach designed for accurate floor detection during vertical mobility, regardless of obstructions blocking the robot’s direct line of sight to the elevator number panel. First, we collected and pre-processed a dataset of direct and reflective views of elevator number panels via the pre-installed mirrors. Then, we trained mirrored images in various possibilities to accomplish accurate floor detection. MirrorVision provides a solid mechanism to understand floor numbers at the level of distorted images. Extensive evaluations show that MirrorVision achieves 98.8% accuracy for floor detection in a crowded elevator, while state-of-the-art EfficientDet and YOLOv5 achieved 90.8% and 93.3%, respectively.

Saving energy at university campus via intervention to reduce elevator usage – a case study from Germany

Recently, the need for energy saving has become a challenge for German society. Rising prices of energy, and urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change, made it necessary to reflect and change behaviors on a population level. Simultaneously, the population faces increased sedentary lifestyle and health system promotes benefits of daily movement and sports. By using stairs, instead of taking the elevator, could be part of the solution for both problems. This applies for buildings, such as universities, which usually have hundreds of students and staff circulating daily. In this sense, this study aims to analyse how an intervention to increase stair usage, by involving motivational stickers and posters, could impact the behavior of students and staff. To achieve its goal, a field study and a questionnaire has been conducted at one German University. The results showed, after the intervention, that the elevator usage decreased by nearly 7%. According to the questionnaire nearly a fifth of all participants felt motivated by the stickers to choose the stairs over the elevator. While before the intervention male participants were 1.76 times more likely than females to take the stairs, the difference in stair usage after the intervention was not statistically significant anymore. Individual students and staff members were 1.44 times more likely to take the stairs than when grouped with others. This difference in stair usage individually or in a group increased from nearly 8% before the intervention to 17% after the intervention. Although short, the intervention showed to be successful and the results indicated that elevator interventions should be utilized in future contexts at a population level to spread the message that by reducing elevator usage, energy can be saved, and human fitness improved.

Comprehensive Energy Consumption of Elevator Systems Based on Hybrid Approach of Measurement and Calculation in Low- and High-Rise Buildings of Tropical Climate towards Energy Efficiency

Rapid population growth and urbanization contribute to an ever-increasing global energy demand, of which the building sector accounts for one-third. The increasing average height and density of buildings escalate the need for vertical transportation, expanding elevator usage and energy needs. This phenomenon accounts for a significant amount of the total building energy use, necessitating a study of elevator system energy consumption. This study aimed to analyze the energy consumption and carbon emissions of elevator systems in low- and high-rise buildings towards energy-efficient estimations. A comprehensive analysis was performed based on a hybrid approach of measurement and calculation using a formula and reference values derived from previous studies. Four buildings were selected and thoroughly studied, representing the low- and high-rise categories. Data were collected based on on-site sampling and observation, as well as information from the building management offices. The mechanical parameters of the elevator system in each building and operational factors in terms of speed, number of trips, load, travel distance, and time were studied. In this analysis, the energy consumption calculation was performed according to International Standard ISO 25745. Annual carbon emissions were calculated in accordance with the USA EPA and IPCC guidelines. The elevator energy efficiency class was determined based on daily energy consumption. It was found from this study that the annual energy consumption of an elevator system is positively correlated to an elevator’s daily energy consumption. The annual carbon emissions of the elevator systems are dependent on increasing annual energy consumption, which is also connected to building height indirectly. The low-rise buildings showed better energy efficiency compared to the high-rise buildings due to lower travel distance, less trips, and fewer floors. The annual number of trips, travel distances, and energy consumption had an effect on the energy efficiency of the elevator systems in this study.

Power Monitoring and Passenger Classification on Logistics Elevator

The elevator has an important role in assisting transportation and logistics activities in a building. However, if the elevator is not used wisely, then the power consumption will be inefficient. A policy of elevator usage is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of elevator power consumption. Therefore, in this study, elevator power consumption monitoring is proposed. The power consumption behavior can be learned so a suitable policy can be made accordingly. Two elevators in Telkom Campus Surabaya are monitored to understand the daily electrical energy usage. Internet of Things (IoT) based real-time power monitoring system is used to monitor the electrical energy usage of the elevator. A raspberry pi is used to collect the data of electrical usage via a current and power sensor. The data is sent to the cloud, which later is displayed through a dashboard website. The result shows that the elevator usage on weekdays and weekends is different. The peak power on weekdays is obtained from 15.00 to 16.00, meanwhile, on weekends, the peak occurs from 9:00 to 10:00. On weekdays, the total power consumed by the elevator is 51.74kW, while on weekends, it is 11.94kW. Restrictions on the use of lifts are applied to periods when the lift has few passengers and has a short distance. From the results obtained, the total power consumed can decrease by an average of 37%. It is expected that the suggested policies can reduce elevator power consumption and the monthly cost of electrical energy.

Multi-Floor Indoor Pedestrian Dead Reckoning with a Backtracking Particle Filter and Viterbi-Based Floor Number Detection.

We present a smartphone-based indoor localisation system, able to track pedestrians over multiple floors. The system uses Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR), which exploits data from the smartphone’s inertial measurement unit to estimate the trajectory. The PDR output is matched to a scaled floor plan and fused with model-based WiFi received signal strength fingerprinting by a Backtracking Particle Filter (BPF). We proposed a new Viterbi-based floor detection algorithm, which fuses data from the smartphone’s accelerometer, barometer and WiFi RSS measurements to detect stairs and elevator usage and to estimate the correct floor number. We also proposed a clustering algorithm on top of the BPF to solve multimodality, a known problem with particle filters. The proposed system relies on only a few pre-existing access points, whereas most systems assume or require the presence of a dedicated localisation infrastructure. In most public buildings and offices, access points are often available at smaller densities than used for localisation. Our system was extensively tested in a real office environment with seven 41 m × 27 m floors, each of which had two WiFi access points. Our system was evaluated in real-time and batch mode, since the system was able to correct past states. The clustering algorithm reduced the median position error by in real-time and in batch mode, while the floor detection algorithm achieved a and floor number accuracy in real-time and batch mode, respectively.

Stair versus elevator use in a university residence hall setting

Objective Determine the temporal and spatial characteristics of stairs versus elevator use in a university residence hall to inform future physical activity promotion efforts. Participants All residents and visitors for a single, four-story residence hall dormitory building located on a college campus in Orange, CA. Methods Smart mat systems capable of detecting pedestrian traffic were placed in front of the stairs and elevators on each floor plus a basement. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were used to compare stair versus elevator usage at different times of the day and on different floors. Results Stair versus elevator use varied much more throughout the day on floors nearest to the ground floor, with stair use most common in the morning. Overall, the elevator was used more frequently on higher floors, with less variation throughout the day. Conclusion To be most effective, future stair promotion interventions should target residents on higher floors and in the morning.

Conflict Management in University Examination Timetabling Problem: A case study of summer school mid-terms


 
 
 
 Abstract:
 Aim: This study is on tackling Examination Timetabling Problem (ETP) of the Faculty of Economics And Administrative Sciences (FEAS) of the Ankara HBV University summer school, where the courses of fall and spring semesters are offered simultaneously and regulations on restricting enrollments in inter-department electives or in-department courses of distinct years are relaxed. Thus, the complexity of the nature of the ETP problem is exacerbated. The direct heuristics based on successive assignments that the university normally adopts was proven inadequate for assuming standard regulations hence, another approach we explain in this paper was needed.
 Design / Research methods: The ETP was formulated as a Linear Mixed-Integer Program (LMIP) and decomposed into three stages; timetabling exams, room assignment, student allocation. To manage the conflict between the stakeholders of the examination procedure, a lexicographic optimization process based on the priority of the parties was undertaken.
 Conclusions / findings: After a recursive timetabling process based on a trial-and-error method a clash-free timetable was generated and, a room assignment plan that minimizes the total number of proctoring duties, usage of higher floor rooms and total crowdedness of rooms respectively was put into action. Therefore no student group experienced any clashing exams, the faculty members saved time that can be spent on research instead, since the room usage was better planned the costs (elevator usage, lighting, air conditioning, the labor of the janitors) were assumed to be decreased.
 Originality / value of the article: Each examination period bares a different ETP due to its problem-specific nature (number of courses offered, structure of student enrollments, availability of rooms, etc.). Summer schools provide a more irregular structure that demands special attention, a trial-and-error reformulation of the ETP in our case. In addition, the traditional formulations of the ETP, to the extent we have been able to scan, do not include the minimization of the crowdedness of the rooms. Thus, in creating a more comfortable environment, easier to monitor exams and, ability in handling unexpected dysfunctionalities (broken classroom equipment, etc.) this study is novel.
 Limitations of the research: The algorithms to solve an ETP formulated as an LMIP are of high complexity therefore, we are not able to assert the optimality of our suggested solutions acquired within time limitations.
 
 
 
 
 Keywords: examination timetabling, group decision making, lexicographic optimization, linear mixed-integer programming
 JEL: C44, C61, M12
 
 
 

Evacuation elevators in an underground metro station: A Virtual Reality evacuation experiment

The number of underground metro stations around the world is steadily increasing and deep stations are becoming more common. Evacuation elevators can be a way to mitigate many of the evacuation problems of deep stations, e.g., fatigue. However, the elevators need to be used by evacuees to be effective. In order to study the influence of evacuation measures on elevator usage, experiments were performed in a Virtual Reality (VR) model of a deep underground metro station. Four scenarios with different evacuation measures were studied and compared. These scenarios consisted of a base-line scenario, a scenario with enhanced guidance systems e.g., a more informative voice alarm message and flashing green lights to guide people, a scenario with smartphone guidance and a scenario with timers showing a countdown timer above the elevators. The results show that the use of evacuation elevators is affected by the evacuation system design and that a more informative guidance system can increase evacuation elevator usage. Also, smartphone guidance was shown to increase the elevator usage, but results suggest people stop looking at the smartphone after initiating evacuation. The study also suggests that accepted waiting times for elevators can potentially be increased if countdown timers are installed above elevators.

Signage Interventions for Stair Climbing at Work: More than 700,000 Reasons for Caution.

Increased stair climbing reduces cardiovascular disease risk. While signage interventions for workplace stair climbing offer a low-cost tool to improve population health, inconsistent effects of intervention occur. Pedestrian movement within the built environment has major effects on stair use, independent of any health initiative. This paper used pooled data from UK and Spanish workplaces to test the effects of signage interventions when pedestrian movement was controlled for in analyses. Automated counters measured stair and elevator usage at the ground floor throughout the working day. Signage interventions employed previously successful campaigns. In the UK, minute-by-minute stair/elevator choices measured effects of momentary pedestrian traffic at the choice-point (n = 426,605). In Spain, aggregated pedestrian traffic every 30 min measured effects for ‘busyness’ of the building (n = 293,300). Intervention effects on stair descent (3 of 4 analyses) were more frequent than effects on stair climbing, the behavior with proven health benefits (1 of 4 analyses). Any intervention effects were of small magnitude relative to the influence of pedestrian movement. Failure to control for pedestrian movement compromises any estimate for signage effectiveness. These pooled data provide limited evidence that signage interventions for stair climbing at work will enhance population health.

Green lift: Exploring the demand response potential of elevators in Danish buildings

Demand response can be applied in a smart grid scenario to promote renewable energy integration by regulating the electricity consumption to match the available renewable production. Buildings are relevant demand response sources for consuming significant amounts of electricity. This paper presents Green Lift, an intervention that explores the demand response potential of indirectly controlling elevators in buildings. Green Lift aims at changing the elevator usage by providing information on “good” and “bad” times to take the elevator, from a CO2 emissions intensity perspective. This is accomplished by installing LEDs beside the elevator doors, linked with real-time CO2 information: the LEDs flash red when electricity produced is CO2 intense and green otherwise. During a one-month field trial, we tested Green Lift in a 12-storey Danish student dormitory. Combining quantitative and qualitative analysis in an interdisciplinary approach, we observed that more people chose the stairwell over the elevator. However, there was no significant reduction in the elevator electricity consumption. Interviews with the residents revealed that the concept of shifting energy consumption was hard to comprehend. We concluded that the studied elevator is not a good source of flexible consumption and we discuss the implications of these results to elevators in other environments.

A Study on the Utilization of Regenerative Power of Elevator by Analysis of Apartment Load Pattern

The government is pursuing a greenhouse gas reduction policy in accordance with the agreement adopted at COP21 held in Paris in 2015. Therefore, public institutions are required to install new and renewable energy facilities, and the ratio of obligations is being gradually expanded every year. KEPCO operates a regenerative braking device support system that reduces power demand through demand management. Regenerative power is the surplus power generated when the elevator is operated. The total regenerative power capacity of the elevator that can be produced in Korea is 1GW, which is equivalent to one unit of Shinwol Sung nuclear power plant (1GW).BR In the case of existing 15-storey apartments, the electricity consumption of the elevator is about 4% of the total electricity consumption of the apartment and 25% of the public electricity. The monthly average monthly usage of one elevator is equal to or more than the average monthly usage of the first generation. The regenerative power increases in proportion to the amount of elevator usage. When an apartment is paid for installing a regenerative power module, it is difficult for the apartment to recover the cost of installing the regenerative power module quickly due to the power saving cost. Therefore, it is only economically effective to utilize the regenerative braking device support system implemented by KEPCO. In the case of a newly installed elevator, a regenerative power type elevator must be installed, Conventional elevators should contribute to minimizing the energy use of the building while minimizing the investment cost by installing regenerative power modules through the regenerative braking system support project.

Explicit method to predict annual elevator energy consumption in recurring passenger traffic conditions

This paper proposes a method for simple projecting of annual elevator electricity consumption based on short-term energy measurements and identifies challenges in the determination of actual energy consumption based on kWh meter readings. The study also analyzes the impact of the employed elevator technology, building type, and seasonal variations in elevator usage on the calculation of the annual consumption. Thus, the method can be adopted in different regions with varying elevator usage. The approach employs elevator specific daily energy consumptions measured on the prevailing day types. The reliability of the proposed approach was analyzed and the performance compared to actual measured annual consumption and estimates provided by commonly adopted energy efficiency classification schemes, VDI 4707-1:2009 and ISO 25745-2:2015. The results of the monitored office elevator indicated that the proposed method performs generally better than the competing approaches.

Practices to Improve the Annual Elevator Energy Consumption Estimates and Measurements

Elevators form a crucial service of a functioning modern society, and the amount of installed units will continue to rise with increasing urbanization. Consequently, the energy efficiency of elevators has begun to attract more attention. However, elevators are rarely being monitored with energy meters, and the actual energy consumption of these devices is therefore commonly based on estimates. This paper provides useful measurement data from a mid-rise office building and analyzes the gathered readings against two energy efficiency classification schemes: the VDI 4707-1 guideline and the ISO 25745-2 standard. This study presents key points for improving the annual consumption estimates provided by these two commonly applied schemes. Furthermore, this paper identifies challenges in the determination of actual energy consumption based on kWh meter readings. The findings of this paper can be applied at any site to reduce errors in the energy consumption modeling of elevators. The results highlight the significance of correctly interpreting the methods of the classification schemes and knowing the total amount of starts of an elevator or an elevator group. Most importantly, the paper finds the elevator usage and consumption to depend heavily on the installed elevator technology as well as the people flow characteristics of the building.

Increasing Stair Use in an Office Worksite through an Interactive Environmental Intervention

Examine the effects of an interactive environmental intervention on stair usage. A nonrandomized, quasi-experimental intervention. Two three-story office buildings. Approximately 200 employees at the intervention site and 140 at the comparison site. The stairwell was decorated with interactive paintings such as maps, storyboards, and wish lists to encourage employees to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Daily stair and elevator usage were measured using electronic sensors or door-access card counters for 2 weeks prior to the intervention and 6 weeks after. The daily counts of stair use were modeled using a Poisson regression to estimate the effect of the intervention on staircase use. At baseline, the mean proportion of stair use relative to stair plus elevator use at the intervention site was 31.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 30.3%-32.7%). During the 6-week intervention period, this proportion increased significantly to 66.2% (95% CI, 64.4%-67.9%). There was no significant change in stair use at the comparison site. In a Poisson regression of the daily number of stair users, the incidence rate ratio associated with the intervention was 2.57 (95% CI, 2.35-2.82). This interactive environmental intervention increased stair usage in an office setting relative to the comparison site, and this increase was sustained over a 6-week period. Adding interactive components to motivational or environmental change interventions shows promise in increasing stair usage.

Guest Editorial: The Significance of Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics

The past decade has provided numerous examples of the devastation that can occur when hazards intersect with human vulnerability, from the tragic loss of life in the 2001 WTC terrorist attack, to Hurricane Katrina, and, more recently, in the ongoing devastation of post-earthquake/tsunami Japan as they struggle to contain the meltdown of a nuclear reactor. The focus of this journal, fire, kills thousands of people in structures around the world, and motivational events, in particular, remind us of the repeated and on-going dangers that arise in specific contexts, such as crowded nightclubs (e.g., the 2003 Station nightclub in Rhode Island and the 2009 Lame Horse nightclub in Russia) or in communities in the wildland/urban interface (e.g., the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia). Pedestrian hazards, such as the constrained conditions that led to the 2010 Love Parade incident in Germany where individuals were crushed outside of a pedestrian tunnel, also continue to cost lives year after year. Regardless of the specific nature of the hazard—earthquake, hurricane, flood, crowding, or fire—one factor unifies them all: the potential loss of human life. Although it is often a key role of emergency managers and fire safety engineers to design or evaluate engineering and egress systems to ensure life safety, research, guidance and techniques remain focused on the assessment of the hazard itself and less on human response before, during, and after a crisis event. Rapidly aging populations in some parts of the world, building design innovation and growth, and the egress challenges of the disabled require that effective management procedures and safety designs be achieved through a better understanding of human behavior and movement in a variety of incident scenarios. This special issue includes nine articles that cover a variety of topics on pedestrian and evacuation dynamics from a wide range of geographical locations around the world. Over half of the articles in this issue present much needed data, including articles that highlight influential factors of occupant elevator usage for evacuation (Kinsey, Galea and Lawrence), evacuation experiences of people with disabilities in historical buildings in Sweden (Kecklund et al.), evacuation characteristics of children (Larusdottir and Dederichs), and the flow capacity of emergency doors during evacuation conditions (Daamen and Hoogendoorn). As a complement to these data-focused articles, this issue also contains a paper by Saadat, Teknomo and Fernandez that presents a unique technique aimed at reducing the effort necessary to analyze pedestrian movement and evacuation data.

Effect of Motivational Signage on Stair and Elevator Usage

Effect of Motivational Signage on Stair and Elevator Usage