Multimedia Elevator Communication, the Wurtec Way

In the first article of this series, we talked about changes to the ASME elevator safety code that require all cabs to be equipped with multimedia communication capabilities.

For this entry, we sat down with Wurtec’s Director of Engineering, Terry Rodebaugh. Terry introduces us to the WUR-COM Multimedia Communicator, Wurtec’s all-in-one solution to these new code requirements, and relates this product’s long journey from initial conception to market release.

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How long has the WUR-COM been in development?

Discussions around creating our own multimedia communication system for elevators began several years ago, since we knew that this would eventually become a requirement per the ASME code.

Official development of the WUR-COM product started in early 2019 and took off in September of that year when the ASME updates were released and we could see exactly what was required.

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What was the process for developing the WUR-COM?

We started by determining the overall architecture of the system. There are several potential ways to provide the required multimedia capabilities. Many elevator communication companies simply added components to their existing analog phones.

But we believed that the future was digital. The growth in popularity of web conferencing applications like Zoom have normalized all-in-one digital communication platforms for business and personal use. So, in our opinion, the best path forward was a fully digital audio-video-text solution using a single-board computer, with open-source WebRTC as the backbone.

How were you able to build on Wurtec’s existing experience and expertise in elevator communications?

First, we had a large base of existing customers from our elevator phone business. They provided helpful input on what kind of product would best suit their needs.

Second, we already had a lot of experience dealing with elevator communication codes. Careful attention to detail to ensure perfect code compliance is a part of our work ethic.

Third, as an innovative company, we are accustomed to pushing ourselves to the cutting edge in areas like elevator communication technology. For example, not many other companies offer a lobby station that can call into every car in the building as well as all the other lobby stations. But we do. And this work gave us a strong foundation for developing a more complex product.

Tell us about the team that worked on the WUR-COM.

We have had a big team working on the WUR-COM, from the start of development down to today. Our electrical engineering and mechanical engineering teams have both made vital contributions to the product’s design. We also brought an embedded systems engineer on staff and have collaborated with software engineers from LiftAI. And we couldn’t take the WUR-COM to market without our manufacturing and tech support staff.

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What challenges did you face in developing the WUR-COM and bringing it to the market?

Web software development was a brand-new area for us. Figuring out how to run a project like that was a learning experience.

The WUR-COM development process also involved marrying many different types of technology, from the hardware stack to the web software stack to the device operating system software stack. There were many different things going on that had to be coordinated.

We’ve also had to evolve and add features beyond our initial offering. While we still believe the future is digital, there is still a lot of demand for analog phones. So, in addition to our “WUR-COM Plus” digital package, we created a “WUR-COM Standard” bundle built around an analog phone.

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What distinguishes the WUR-COM from other multimedia communicators on the market?

There are several features of the WUR-COM that distinguish it from most or all of the alternatives:

-???????Lobby stations that can call into any car on the property as well as call each other.

-???????Security features on the web app – logins, unique customer and user IDs, and a hierarchy of user role types.

-???????The ability to remotely update devices.

-???????Automatic remote updating with the latest software.

-???????An online product configurator.

And, of course, I have to mention Wurtec’s signature customer service and tech support.

In the next entry in this series, we’ll take a deep dive into the WUR-COM, exploring each component and how they all integrate into one powerful multimedia communication system.