[Global Technology Reporter Wang Huan] According to "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported on June 23, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric have entered a new phase of competition around the "fastest lift in the world." Hitachi recaptured the fastest title in the world in about 40 years in an elevator empirical test of delivery of high-rise buildings in China. The fastest competition has been dominated by Japanese companies and it is a long-cherished wish for Hitachi. On the other hand, the European and American companies that constitute the top 4 in the world of the industry have maintained the fastest distance from the world and are moving to the "Internet of Things (IoT)" to promote cross-industry cooperation. "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" interviewed the latest developments in the elevator industry that are closely related to our lives. Data map Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric's "40 Years of War" On July 2, Hitachi delivered a speed record of 1,260 meters (75.6 kilometers per hour) in the demonstration test of ultra high-speed elevators delivered to Guangzhou Zhou Dafu Financial Center, a super high-rise integrated building in Guangzhou, China. The maximum speed after delivery to the building was in line with the original plan, which was a speed of 1200 meters (72 kilometers per hour). The company stated that it has carried out tests in order to "pursue further speeding up." Hitachi had set the world's highest speed record in 1974. To the "Shinjuku Sumitomo Building" in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan, it delivered an elevator with a speed of 540 meters (32.4 kilometers per hour) at the highest speed in the world. However, four years later, in 1978, Mitsubishi Electric delivered an elevator with a speed of 600 meters (36km/h) to Sunshine 60 in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Hitachi only maintained its position as the “four-year kingâ€. Since then, Hitachi has not delivered the world's highest speed elevator for more than 40 years. In order to catch up, Toshiba delivered an elevator with a speed of 1010 meters in 2004, and the top three Japanese elevators are competing for the fastest in the world. The world’s highest speed elevator currently in operation is Mitsubishi Electric’s elevator delivered to the “Shanghai Center Buildingâ€, the tallest Chinese building in Shanghai, China in July 2016. Its speed is 1230 meters (73.8 kilometers per hour). The elevator set a record for the highest speed in about 12 years. In December 2016, it was listed as the fastest elevator in the world and was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Hitachi's recapture of the first title seems to be doomed. Because, when Hitachi obtained the elevator order of the "Guangzhou Chow Tai Fook Financial Center," the design speed was 1200 meters, and it was already possible to regain the highest speed. On the one hand, Mitsubishi Electric's "Shanghai Center Building" elevator was designed to achieve a speed of 1,080 meters at the order stage. Therefore, when Hitachi announced the order result in 2014, it was considered that it would secure the top spot in the world. Speed ​​competition usher in the limit However, Mitsubishi Electric increased the maximum speed to 1,230 meters according to the intention of the holders of the "Shanghai Center Building." Due to delays in the opening of the "Guangzhou Chow Tai Fook Financial Center" for Hitachi to deliver elevators, Hitachi's desire to win the world's highest speed title was lost. In this empirical test, Hitachi finally reported a revenge on Mitsubishi Electric. The promotion of high-speed elevators is based on technology that proves that passengers can comfortably and accurately reach a given floor. This also helps get other orders. The high-speed competition led by Japanese companies may set off a new wave. However, with regard to the speed of elevators, there are also voices in the industry that "is about to reach the limit." There has been a trend toward the development of large-capacity elevators capable of carrying passengers in large quantities, such as Toshiba, which no longer pursues speed. And it is the European and American companies that draw a clear line with Japanese companies. The European and American giants in the top 4 of the world think that the speed is about 600 meters or more in terms of speed. In recent years, they have mainly focused on cooperation with IT (information technology) giants. European and American companies rely on "smart" to win In the European and American elevator industry, Otis of the United States and ThyssenKrupp of Germany cooperated with Microsoft (MS) in the United States. In addition, Kone Oyj has partnered with U.S. IBM, which owns the artificial intelligence (AI) computer "Watson." The Schindler Group is collaborating with Huawei Technologies in China. These companies intend to provide “smart elevators†that can make their own decisions based on the status of use. A typical example is ThyssenKrupp. The company cooperates with Microsoft's cloud service "Azure" and has been providing services under the name "MAX" since the spring of 2016. With MAX, you can sense the speed and number of people riding in the elevator car. Responsible personnel of the maintenance service department can confirm information with the aid of a dedicated smartphone application. The burden of regular maintenance can be greatly reduced. Although it depends on the provisions of the "Fire Control Law" of each country, the ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for periodic maintenance, and maintenance personnel can only replace the necessary parts when needed. In addition, ThyssenKrupp also used Microsoft's machine learning capabilities to update the maintenance content. The company’s elevators have more than 1 million operations worldwide. By 2018, 80% plans to use MAX services. Customers can benefit from the reduction of maintenance inspection fees, but for ThyssenKrupp, traditional income will be reduced. However, the company still hopes to promote business efficiency in order to win new customers. The head of the company’s elevator department, Andreas Schierenbeck, stated that “this is a leap-frog innovation in the quality, efficiency and modernization of the elevatorâ€. Horizontally moving elevator ThyssenKrupp is developing an elevator "MULTI" that does not use cables that lift the car. The power source is a linear motor. As there is no need for cables, the space is larger and it can move laterally within the building. If the car is found to be crowded in a particular place, it can be mobilized from two or three other places to support it. The current elevator is one that moves up and down, and the new elevator will reduce waiting time. Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric belong to the world's fifth echelon. After the Japanese companies compete for the highest speed, another “stage†focusing on the Internet of Things is also being formed. In the future, elevator companies in the world who are favored by customers and whose performance is booming will be left in the future.