Entering an elevator in one of City of Richmond’s buildings may feel like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Richmond’s first touchless keypad was installed in one of the elevators at the city’s annex building, west of Richmond City Hall, in late-October.
In order to get to the desired floor, a person simply approaches the elevator button panel with their finger above the specific floor number on an LCD screen and tap the air approximately an inch away from the screen.
The system, called HoverTap Lift, was created by NZ Technologies, in collaboration with Dupar Controls, a Canadian manufacturer specializing in elevator fixtures and panels.
Nima Ziraknajad, founder and CEO of NZ Technologies, said the system is an “add-on” to the original elevator and didn’t require any other changes.
“It’s like someone is touching the buttons behind the screen for you, and this eliminates any contact with the panel in the elevator,” said Ziraknajad.
According to city spokesperson Clay Adams, Richmond agreed to participate in the pilot project of the touchless elevator system to help provide a safer environment for those in the building.
“We chose to take part in the pilot as the city is always looking for new technology that enhances safety by reducing physical contact through concepts such as touch screens,” said Adams. “This is particularly important given the ongoing pandemic.”
He added that most of the cost for the technology was covered by the manufacturer.
While NZ Technologies had installed its system at Ronald Mcdonald’s House first, it was only a prototype. The system that is being used in Richmond’s annex building is the official final product.
Ziraknajad told the Richmond News that their mission is to provide a safe environment for everybody, which coincided with the City of Richmond’s concerns during the pandemic.
“Our mission is to provide a safe environment for everybody to be able to interact and use high-touch surfaces safely and prevent the spread of transmissible diseases, not just because of COVID-19,” said Ziraknajad.
The system, he added, is useful for buildings and places that have “high in and out pedestrian traffic” such as commercial and residential buildings, airports, shopping malls and even hospitals.
“It’s about the safety of the occupants of a building and to allow everyone to return to work during a difficult time.”
Reported by: Valerie Leung
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Pranav Saxena is the Chief Technology Officer of NZ Technologies and is here to tell us about touchless elevator buttons and the technology that can go way beyond elevator buttons because we can look at getting gas, opening doors, pushing buttons.
Imagine a world where guests can call the elevator with a simple gesture and without needing to push unsanitary buttons. Customer service is a vital part of the travel and hospitality industry, and hotels are upping their game to deliver on commitment and guarantee safe, clean, and germ-free environments.
Touchless solutions gain acceptance, expected to expand
Touchless solutions have gained acceptance during the pandemic, but more customer education is needed as the technology continues to evolve beyond hygiene benefits.
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NZ Technologies Inc. (NZTech) is a technology innovation and electro-mechanical device production firm, focused on revolutionizing modern Human Machine Interfaces (HMI).
Ph.D., P.Eng. Founder and CEO
An inventor by nature, I have devoted my life to technological innovation, taking sector-specific problems and transforming them into practical, commercialized solutions.
As CEO, I am responsible for leadership and operations at NZTech, which includes securing and managing the financing, and making decisions on all strategic activities. My role also extends to cultivating relationships in business, technological and financial spheres to grow business development and productivity.
Creating transformative change in the healthcare sector is my passion. I am constantly exploring new horizons and connecting the technologies we have invented to more practical applications in the medical field.
My passion and drive to develop new technologies – achieved by understanding users’ unmet needs – ensures that we attract highly-skilled experts to our team who have an important contribution to make and who know that something tangible will result from our collaborative efforts.