Designed with Smart Buildings in Mind: The New Gen3 and Gen360 Connected Elevators from Otis

Cutting-edge technology puts these elevators at the heart of any smart building’s ecosystem.

The new Gen3â„¢ and Gen360â„¢ connected elevator platforms from Otis are designed to work with the growing collection of smart technologies that are making buildings more comfortable, efficient and sustainable for building occupants and managers alike.

Smart sensors, Bluetooth® technology, cloud-based APIs (application programming interface) and other technologies enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) all contribute to the intelligence that defines this new generation of elevators.

Customers are embracing the possibilities these connected elevator platforms open up. In China, Jilin Longchang Property Developers chose the Gen3 elevator for a new high-end residential complex in Jilin province, becoming one of the elevator’s first customers in the country. The developer then selected the Gen3 for four more of its projects in northeastern China, becoming the country’s first repeat Gen3 customer.

Jilin Longchang Property Developers chose the Gen3 elevator for a new high-end residential complex in Jilin province.

And in Europe, the Gen360 platform has been selected for three prestigious projects in France: the new Aquatics Centre and Athletes’ Village near Paris; and the new campus of the Emlyon Business School in Lyon.

At the Aquatics Center in Saint-Denis, Paris area, France, architects chose the Gen360 for its exclusive design allowing maintenance operations to be performed from within the car freeing them from any roof protrusion that might have interfered with the building’s architectural lines.

Their cutting-edge technology puts these elevators at the heart of any smart building’s ecosystem, says Otis Chair and CEO Judy Marks.

"The connected elevator represents our shared future and our vision for the seamless urban journey," says Marks. "It creates value for our customers with greater equipment uptime. It enhances the productivity of our own teams, and it exists at the heart of any smart building's ecosystem."

The Otis eCall™ app, for example, can be integrated with a building’s access control system, allowing passengers to pass through security, call their elevator and log their destination all from their smartphone. The Otis eView™ in-car display streams infotainment for passengers and can connect them with the OTISLINE® customer support center via video chat in the event of an emergency.

And with Otis Integrated Dispatch™ API, service robots can wirelessly interface with a building’s elevators: The robot can call the elevator, select its destination and efficiently enter and exit the car – all without human interaction

Both elevators are built on the flat-belt technology of the space-saving Gen2® elevator. And both are powered by our Otis ONE™ solution to provide customers increased visibility into the performance of their equipment and an improved level of service.

The Otis ONE solution monitors equipment health in real time, 24/7. Smart sensors collect performance data, which gets aggregated and analyzed in the cloud – enabling Otis service professionals to identify potential problems and address them, often before they cause a service interruption. The information is also immediately accessible to customers, giving them visibility into the status of their equipment – and the assurance that Otis is working to keep their equipment running and their passengers moving safely to their destinations.

The Gen3 and Gen360 elevators are also designed to be “future ready.” As customer needs change and new features emerge, the connected platform allows for the seamless addition of future technologies and capabilities similar in concept to the way software updates are pushed to your smartphone. When new features are introduced and available, customers will often be able to download them over the air as opposed to undertaking a major upgrade on their elevator systems.

The Gen360 platform

The Gen360 platform, initially available in Europe, introduces an all-new electrical architecture. Many mechanical safety components have been replaced by less bulky IoT devices, allowing 24/7 remote monitoring, increasing overall reliability and freeing hoistway space to accommodate larger cabins.

A foldable, in-ceiling platform allows most maintenance operations to be performed safely from within the car rather than on top of it. This eliminates the need for a refuge space above the car or an unsightly roof extension to house the elevator hoist at the top of a building – a gift to architects. With 360-degree cameras in the hoistway, Otis service teams can visually confirm, fine-tune, diagnose and solve many issues remotely without even stopping the elevator.

The Gen360 elevator is rated for A-class energy efficiency according to the ISO 25745-2L20015 standard; it has been certified for Environment Product Declarations (EPD) by meeting EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 and ISO 14025:2006 standards for sustainability.

Photograph above copyright Otis / Arnaud Février.