Market & Opportunity
As the demand for space in densely populated urban areas increases, the need for taller buildings becomes paramount. Hyprlift is a next-generation elevator that represents a radical innovation in vertical transportation that will meet the demands of these taller buildings.
“The Hyprlift system is a logical solution and may very well be the next major advancement in elevator design and technology for supertall buildings.”
Joe Neto, V. P. – Key Accounts
VDA Elevator Consulting
“Hyprlift recalls the early years of our industry when change was rapid, visionaries imagined a future none had seen, and innovators fundamentally changed our cities. I applaud the effort and look forward to seeing the commercialization of Hyprlift’s technology.”
Randy Wilcox, Former President
Otis Elevator Company
“There is both a critical market need and global business opportunity for the Hyprlift system…this potentially game-changing technology.”
Peter Weismantle, Managing Director
Peter Weismantle LLC
Former Director of Supertall Building
Technology, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Greater Capacity
Untethered by hoist ropes and traveling cables, Hyprlift elevator cabs are self-propelled allowing multiple cabs to travel autonomously within the same shaft. This enables Hyprlift to outperform traditional elevator systems using fewer shafts.
Fewer shafts means new buildings can be designed with narrower cores, freeing up valuable interior space for other uses. And existing under-elevatored buildings can for the first time meet their building’s vertical transport demands.
Maximum Efficiency
Hyprlift self-propelled elevator cabs are highly efficient electric vehicles designed to travel vertically in a conventional elevator shaft.
Energy efficiency is maximized as Hyprlift cabs use dynamic braking during their descent to regenerate energy that is stored and then used to augment the energy needed for their ascent.
Boundless Autonomy
Hyprlift self-propelled elevator cabs are not bound to a single shaft but use AI-driven destination dispatching to navigate through multiple shafts.
Transfer stations located at strategic positions throughout the shafts allow Hyprlift cabs to easily transfer horizontally from shaft to shaft, providing a level of autonomy not possible with traditional elevator systems.
What’s more, transfer stations allow Hyprlift cabs to be quickly removed from the shaft for offline maintenance and repair. While other cabs can be added to the shaft, ensuring maximum system uptime.
Comfort & Safety
Designed for comfort and safety, Hyprlift cabs deliver an unparalleled passenger-experience. The passenger compartment is a human-interactive, intelligent
environment designed to give passengers a futuristic experience from the moment they enter the cab until they’re delivered safely to their destination.
Team
James Hutchinson
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Seeking to revolutionize the industry he has been a part of for three decades, serial entrepreneur James Hutchinson conceptualized the Hyprlift self-propelled elevator cab and founded Hyprlift, Inc. in April 2019. As a 30-year veteran of business development and enterprise sales in the vertical transportation technologies space, preceded by eight years as a mechanical design engineer, James sought to combine his past and present skillsets to become a driving force for radical innovation in an industry that’s not seen significant innovation in well over a hundred years.
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Daniel Johnson, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Daniel Johnson is Hyprlift’s Chief Technology Officer. In this leadership role, Dan is responsible for guiding the overall design and development of the Hyprlift system. Dan was instrumental in providing the foundational engineering design and modeling work behind Hyprlift’s revolutionary dynamic-tractive drive system. He also led the effort to secure funding to construct a proof-of-concept prototype through an SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Avery Jutkowitz
Head of Control Systems Engineering
As Head of Control Systems Engineering, Avery Jutkowitz is responsible for the design and development of Hyprlift’s controls and electronic systems architecture. With over 24 years of experience developing innovative, next-generation automated control systems, Avery brings a vast amount of relevant knowledge and expertise to the Hyprlift team.
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Ronald Schoolcraft
Head of Powertrain Engineering
As Head of Powertrain Engineering, Ronald Schoolcraft is responsible for the design and development of Hyprlift’s dynamic-tractive drive powertrain and suspension system. Ron brings to the Hyprlift team over 35 years of power transmission industry experience from a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, industrial, agricultural, construction, marine, drilling, and defense.
Read MoreAdvisory Council
Randy Wilcox
Randy retired as President Americas for industry-leader Otis Elevator Company. During his 32 years with Otis he served as President Americas, President South Asia Pacific Area, as well as held numerous other positions. Today Randy assists those looking to invest in the elevator industry and serves on the board of directors of the largest independent elevator service company in North America. He also serves on several other for-profit and non-profit boards outside the elevator industry.
Peter Weismantle, FAIA RIBA
Prior to founding his own consultancy firm, Peter was the Director of Supertall Building Technology at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture for 12 years, preceded by 31 years as an Associate Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. During his distinguished career, Peter was the senior technical architect for several world-renowned supertall building projects including Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the world’s tallest building, and the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, currently under construction but when completed will surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building.
Joseph Neto
Joe is the Vice President-Key Accounts for VDA Elevator Consulting, a leader in the elevator consultancy space. Over the course of his career, Joe has consulted on many iconic high-rise building projects including Hudson Yards, the largest commercial real estate development project in U.S. history. With over 35 years of elevator industry experience, Joe is regarded as an expert in his field evidenced by his many industry-related licenses and certifications.
James Fortune
Jim is the founder and principal partner at Fortune Shepler Saling (FS2), a leading consultancy firm in the vertical transportation industry. Jim’s reputation as the world’s foremost expert on supertall buildings was earned as a result of his consulting on the world’s tallest buildings including Taipei 101 in Taiwan, the IFC and ICC towers in China, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the Jeddah Tower, currently under construction in Saudi Arabia. Drawing on over 40 years of elevator industry experience, Jim has authored many technical papers and spoken at industry events about advancements in elevator technology.
Professor Mark Cutkosky, PhD
Mark is head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University. Mark applies analyses, simulations, and experiments to the design and control of robotic hands, tactile sensors, and devices for human/computer interaction. His research work at Stanford includes the development of patented technology for scaling smooth vertical surfaces using anisotropic frictional materials, a.k.a. gecko-inspired dry adhesives.