The CARE-IMD project will improve the elevator and lifting infrastructure installation and maintenance industry, thanks to new technologies in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), digital twins and artificial intelligence.
CARE-IMD is a project funded by the Ministry of Innovation and Science of Spain that brings together Hovering Solutions, a company specialized in UAVs operating in extreme conditions, the Computing and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Camilo José Cela University and Comet Global Innovation, an expert consultant in usability and market strategy, with the mission of guaranteeing the best possible interaction and social acceptance of the product that is expected to be obtained after the research and development phase.
The daily use of elevators exponentially increases the importance of these infrastructures and their impact on the environment. Lifts are an essential daily element in our urban environment, placing Spain, with more than 1 million residential facilities, as the first country in the world in number of facilities in proportion to its population. To this number of elevators for residential use we must add the elevator infrastructures, essential elements in industrial premises or transport terminals.
These facilities are in continuous operation and their maintenance must be rigorous. An installation in poor condition can constitute a high cost for limiting or stopping production or even for causing a fatal accident that entails human losses. For this reason, improvements in this area can represent significant progress in line with the Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
CARE-IMD pursues the improvement of the maintenance and installation of elevator infrastructures, making use of flying robots that will be able to navigate inside the shafts through which the elevators run autonomously. These robots will be able to help maintenance technicians detect problems in the lifting infrastructure, either for maintenance or to carry out a new installation.
Among other functions, the UAVs will collaborate in the creation of a digital twin of the installation, which they will use in a symbiotic way to improve their navigation and the detection of possible problems.
Comet Global Innovation will be in charge, throughout the development of the product, of carrying out multiple experiments in the field of human-robot interaction, human-computer interaction, usability and user experience (UX) that will allow obtaining the highest quality of the product. final. The User-Centered Design philosophy will be present at all stages of the project to ensure that the product is as useful, effective and efficient as possible for its end users.
The CARE-IMD presentation ceremony will be held on May 17, and will be attended by the management of the Spanish Elevator Business Federation and an outstanding list of associated companies and the sector that will be invited to participate directly in the progress of the project as final users of the results of the R+D+i project.
The event will take place at the Hovering Solutions facilities, the project coordinating company, and will offer a demonstration of the current capabilities of its UAVs at the company’s test facilities, aimed at analyzing the current context and gathering requirements, following the principles of User-Centered Design, under which the CARE-IMD project is developed.
More information about the project: https://care-imd.eu/
