Introduction

To measure actual kinematics you can use a stopwatch and an accelerometer (as applied in ride analyser products). A procedure would be:

1. Start Ride Analyser and stopwatch at the instant the doors start closing.
2. Take lap time on stopwatch when doors have fully closed.
3. Take lap time on stopwatch when doors start opening.
4. Stop stopwatch and Ride Analyser when doors are fully open.

The measurements for distance, velocity, acceleration and jerk can then be exported from the Ride Analyser and compared with idealised kinematic curves, for example those produced by the Elevate Kinematics tool.

Elevate's Motion software, used with an Elevate Perform accelerometer, allows you to complete all these measurements and analyses in a few simple steps. The Elevate Perform device is available at the Peters Research store.

For a discussion of the theory and methods used, please refer to the paper:

Peters R D, Lift Performance Time, Proceedings of The 2nd Symposium on Lift & Escalator Technology (CIBSE Lifts Group and The University of Northampton) (2012)