Develop an IoT ecosystem that allows for the management and control of elevators, fostering the development of smart office environments

Zo.: Empolyee Benefit Solution

Tishman Speyer is a U.S. real estate investment and management company. Known for owning and managing iconic properties such as Rockefeller Center in NY and the Sony Center in Berlin, they operate in seven countries worldwide. Monstar Lab's North American office participated in the development of "Zo.," a welfare benefits app provided by the company to its tenants, from the planning stage. We were responsible for all processes from research and planning to UX/UI design and product development.

Challenges:

OTIS, which has been manufacturing high-quality elevators for 120 years since its founding, has seen accelerated demand for smart offices in recent years. In the face of increasing societal digitalization, it became difficult to maintain a competitive advantage by simply continuing to manufacture elevators as finished products.

OTIS aimed to develop a new IoT solution that would enable cloud-connected control of elevators. As OTIS lacked in-house app development expertise, they required a development partner to support the internalization of their operations team through the project.

Solutions:

We built a system that operates and manages elevators from an app, linked with an IoT hub on the hardware side. This allowed users to call elevators remotely, reducing their waiting time. Simultaneously, we incorporated a mechanism to control the door opening/closing time via the app, accommodating baggage transportation and support for individuals with disabilities. On the building manager's screen, the status of multiple elevators could be monitored in real-time.

Additionally, because elevators are installed in a wide range of locations, we built a platform including an SDK and APIs for third-party developers to enable flexible deployment. This facilitated integration with existing apps used in locations such as office buildings and hotels.

Due to the unique nature of elevators as products, physical safety and internet security were critical aspects of development. We conducted thorough testing from various perspectives, including app operation verification using demo units, penetration testing, and load testing.

Results:

"eCall" was officially released nine months after the project began. It became possible to support 2 million elevators installed worldwide and to register elevators from multiple buildings to be operated with a single app.

Furthermore, we shared knowledge of app development with OTIS through the project, supporting the internalization of their operations team.

Monstarlab was evaluated for its speedy development and human resource development, and it is also participating in the smart office initiative of United Technologies, with which the company has a business alliance.

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