Schindler myPORT Revolutionizes the Way People Move Through Buildings

MORRISTOWN, NJ, May 19, 2016 – Today, Schindler Elevator Corporation announced the launch of myPORT, a unique smartphone-based service for personal mobility, in North America. With a seamless four-step identity verification on entry, “e-banking level” security is provided with no inconvenience to the user. Once inside the building, myPORT allows users to move throughout the building just by keeping their smartphones on their person. Occupants have more freedom and convenience than ever before and building owners get greater access control.

Schindler’s myPORT is in constant communication with the building’s PORT Technology elevator interface to provide building owners, managers, tenants and visitors with real-time information. With myPORT, users gain convenience, security and comfort with features that can be programmed to:

• Verify user identity and summon an elevator based on their needs and preferences.
• Anticipate user requirements with personalized features such as turning on and off lights, or locking and unlocking doors as the user arrives.
• Send special authorization codes via SMS text messages to grant access to building visitors.

“Several years ago, Schindler began research focused not on the elevator itself, but on its role in moving people seamlessly through their day,” said Dr. Paul Friedli, Schindler's Head of Advanced Research. “In many ways, myPORT is the culmination of this research. myPORT enables a whole new way for people to interact with their environment. It’s a fundamentally new approach to building design.”

World urbanization

More than 60 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in cities by 2030. The rapid rate of worldwide urbanization and a highly competitive building market puts developers under pressure to find better ways to maximize both building and tenant productivity, minimize wait times for elevators and facilitate building security.

Building owners can unlock additional capabilities for myPORT by pairing it with Schindler’s PORT Technology visitor station:

• Image and voice of building guests can be sent from the lobby directly to the myPORT phone of the host to obtain access, even if the host is offsite.
• Users can grant admission to delivery personnel or other visitors with a button in myPORT that opens the outer door, assigns a pre-programmed elevator and even unlocks the apartment or office door, if desired.

The customizable features within myPORT carry specific benefits for people with special needs whose journey can be controlled from the smartphone.

“What makes myPORT so unique is how we are personalizing the mobility experience for every one of our customers,” said Greg Ergenbright, president, Schindler Elevator Corporation. “Whether it’s getting you from point A to B, streamlining deliveries, ensuring building security, or adapting to people with special needs, we can now achieve unprecedented levels of customization.”

Schindler’s myPORT is suitable for a wide variety of building environments from low-rise offices to high-rise luxury residences where speed, volume, durability, safety and security are essential.

Unveiled to customers at a series of road show events across the country this month, myPORT is already being piloted in several projects worldwide. The technology is now available in North America.

About Schindler Elevator Corporation
Schindler Elevator Corporation is the North American operation of the Switzerland-based Schindler Group, a leading global mobility provider of elevators, escalators and related services. Schindler supports sustainable urban development with safe, reliable and sustainable mobility solutions, moving more than one billion people every day all over the world. Schindler is once again at the forefront of technological advancement through its partnership with Solar Impulse, a cutting-edge project to fly around the world in a plane powered only by solar energy. Behind the company’s success are over 57,000 employees operating in more than 100 countries.