IoT Ecosystem for Multiple Elevator Management

OTIS, a pioneer in elevator manufacturing and sales, remains one of the world's largest and longest-standing elevator suppliers and continue to expand products globally. To future-proof their customer experience and promote efficiency throughout the service lifespan of each product, they partnered with Monstarlab to develop the IoT platform⁠ "eCall"⁠. eCall enables the cloud connection of elevators to an app for which Monstarlab has also developed an SDK for smartphone apps and third-party developers. Through this app, users are able to call, designate, and even control the doors of available elevators.

The Challenge

OTIS has been making high-quality elevators for 120 years since its establishment, but in recent years demand for smart offices has accelerated. With the progress of digitalization in society, it has become difficult to secure competitive advantage simply by continuing to manufacture elevators as finished products. OTIS aimed to develop a new IoT solution that would allow the elevator to be controlled via a cloud connection. This is where Monstarlab came in.

The Solution

Monstarlab built a mechanism to operate and manage the elevator from a single application in conjunction with the IoT hub on the hardware side. This made it possible to hail available elevators remotely and reduce the waiting time for users. The app also allowed operators to control the opening and closing time of the doors on the app for safety and efficiency reasons, as well as monitor and provide support for the transportation of luggage and the boarding of people with disabilities. On top of that, building managers can now check the status of multiple elevators in real time too. Since OTIS elevators are installed in a wide variety of locations, the platform includes SDK and API for third-party developers to enable flexible deployment. Our team consciously made it easier for the platform to link with existing building apps. To ensure smooth and safe operation of the app before release, our team also conducted various, successful tests such as the penetration and load tests on a demo machine.

• With eCall, OTIS can now easily register and manage over 2 million of its elevators installed all over the world
• The IoT-integrated application was officially released after just 9 months
• Elevator systems from multiple buildings can now be controlled in real-time through eCall