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ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG has come up with a rope-free multi cabin elevator system which can cut short, long waits for elevators in high rise buildings.
And, you can use an elevator not only for vertical travel but also for horizontal movement.
Presenting the new technology to international media here on Thursday, it's Chief Executive Officer & Executive Chairman Andreas Schierenbeck said the new system, christened as MULTI, was based on linear motor technology.
This will allow several cabins in the same shaft to move vertically and horizontally.
In simpler terms, the design is similar to metro rail as it could incorporate several self-propelled elevator cabins per shaft running in a loop.
There can be continuous passenger transportation in multiple cabins reducing the waiting time, the CEO said.
A recent project done by the students of Columbia university found that office workers in New York City spent a cumulative time of 16.6 years waiting for elevators and 5.9 years inside them!
The Multi would increase the shaft transport capacity by up to 50 per cent.
Its technology was based on the concept of Twin elevator system launched in 2003 by ThyssenKrupp but includes new features such as light-weight materials and a linear drive.
From the architecture point of view, unconventional shapes and designs are possible as an elevator cabin can take-off vertically but can switch over to horizontal motion if needed.
According to Patrick Bass, Head of R&D, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, the Multi elevators can increase usable area in a building up to 25 per cent.
This also translates into 'significant' savings in construction costs as well as likely spurt in rent revenues from increased usable space.
Multi has the same energy efficiency of conventional elevator systems and power peak loads can be reduced by up to 60 per cent, Bass claimed.
The ideal building height for Multi elevator installation starts at 300 metres. "But the system is not constrained by a building's height," he added.
ThyssenKrupp is building a new test tower for proper certification environment and to launch the product in the market. This would be completed in 2016.
When asked on target markets, Schierenbeck told Business Line: "It could be India, China and entire world." The size of global elevator market was estimated at 46 billion Euros in 2013 with an annual growth of over 5 per cent. It is expected to grow further with the equivalent of a one million people city is being built every day.
(The writer is in Essen at the invitation of Thyssen Krupp)
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