Faster elevator system based on group dynamics

Elevator company Fujitec America has installed a new elevator system in Seattle's Metropolitan Park West Tower that groups riders together based on their shared destination. According to the company, you may wait a bit longer for the elevator but your overall time spent getting to your desired floor will be reduced. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Self-standing and wall-mounted kiosks with touch screens are installed in common areas where elevator passengers wait. Passengers enter their destination floor on the touch screen.

The requests are processed, and a message is displayed informing users to ride a specific car.

"In a conventional system, waiting passengers crowd into the first available elevator, which often results in the car stopping at numerous floors, increasing travel time," said Joe Rennekamp, vice president of engineering at Fujitec's corporate offices in Lebanon.

In time, the new Fujitec system becomes even more efficient at grouping passengers by learning elevator-use patterns, said Rennekamp...

Link (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!)