Problem
A customer that produced elevator systems using Alpha Omega designed microprocessor based control electronics asked us to create a status display for monitoring multiple elevators.
Solution
We produced three versions of the program, using essentially the same C code in all three. The first used the Motorola 6809 based elevator control board AO designed to control the elevator hardware. It had significant memory limitations, which limited the functions of the program. A second version was created for the Alpha Omega STD Z80 Bus computer which had far more memory and computing power. A third version ran on PC-104 hardware.
The initial versions displayed elevator status on a CRT monitor. It had a graphic display to show the vertical position of each elevator, and when an elevator stopped at a floor the display showed whether the door was open or closed. Additional status information could be called up on the screen.
A fancier version was created for a hotel in Las Vegas. They wanted an impressive appearing "security" display that was visible through windows from the lobby. Large vertical panels with lots of lights showed elevator positions, with consoles covered with lighted buttons for controls.
Results
The display systems served their purpose for monitoring elevator operation and providing service information.
