Otis Elevator Simulator Project

For this project, I designed and implemented a microcontroller based simulator for this old Otis panel. We acquired this panel for the elevaTOURs elevator museum from a building in San Antonio, TX. This was from a system that was probably installed around 1980. It is seven floors and has a fire service panel that was added on. It even has the old IEE projection style display. I made a video about that display which you can find here.

This system has two microcontrollers which I programmed to work like a selective collective elevator system. That means that the elevator can have multiple calls and knows the direction which it is travelling. It will serve all the calls in the direction it is currently travelling in before changing directions. In addition to the basic operation, the fire service mode works on this panel. It doesn't work exactly like it would in the field, but it follows a similar idea by including a working call cancel and having to hold the door close button to close the "doors."

In the end, I am extremely happy with how this project came out. This piece will be displayed in the elevator museum for people to enjoy! Watch the video below to see the system I built and the finished product!