Real-time sensor data integration in vertical transport systems: Are conventional mobile devices capable of coping with industrial measurement?

In this project, mobile connectivity and an innovative approach to sensor data gathering and integration have been employed to automate maintenance inspection, performance monitoring and ride quality measurement in vertical transportation systems. An Inertial Navigation System (INS) has been proposed, implemented and tested to track lift car movement profile. The inherent characteristics of vertical motion have been used to minimize errors and obtain higher accuracy in the integration results. The measurement of a correlation between kinematic profiles constructed from lift-car tracking data compared to its nominal values provides key information on the lift condition at any time. A frequency analysis was applied to processing vibrations and noise data, effectively adding another dimension to the lift ride quality measurement. This approach enabled lift performance profiles to be compiled automatically and transmitted in real time, which significantly rationalized and improved the process of maintenance inspection and monitoring. An advanced prototype, AdInspect, has been produced, with the full set of described features. Industry partners are currently evaluating it.