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Humans are said to have evolved from an ancestor that once swung through the trees to get about, free to move through the environment in almost any direction. But today, in our modern high-rise environment, if you simply want to go up or down, it's probably fair to say we've actually devolved. Stairs, elevators, and lifts all take up precious space within buildings, and they're expensive, complicated, or require endless maintenance. Now a new human-powered system prototype dubbed Vertical Walking has been developed that requires just ten percent of the effort needed to climb stairs, but can easily move a person up a vast number of floors.
[...] Designed by the Rombaut Frieling lab in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Vertical Walking uses a system of upright rails that incorporate pulleys and a clever gripping system to allow a user to incrementally move between floors in a building. Claimed to require less than 10 percent of the effort needed to climb stairs, and with no other external energy input needed, the creators assert that the prototype has been successfully proven by a wide range of people, including an amputee and an MS sufferer.
A novel way to move between floors.
(Score: 3, Informative) by FakeBeldin on Wednesday October 26 2016, @09:11PM
on youtube [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Thursday October 27 2016, @01:34AM
Yeah....no. those with arthritic hands, wheelchairs, walkers, packages, hell I know a couple bikers that would have serious issues with this thing because they are big linebacker looking guys and would have trouble getting in and out of that thing.
I really don't see this not running afoul of USA handicap accessibility laws, not to mention WTF are you gonna do if there is a fire or bomb scare or other emergency? Have everyone stand around and wait in line for this to let them out one at a time?
Sorry but other than power usage this thing has waay too many downsides and not enough upsides to be a viable replacement for elevators and stairs. Hell I bet with todays tech it really wouldn't be that hard to make an elevator low power so I doubt even power usage is that big a win for this thing and it certainly isn't gonna work as well as good old fashioned stairs in an emergency.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Thursday October 27 2016, @01:57AM
Power=Work/time
Work=force*distance
The work an elevator does does not change (though counter-weights can help).
Therefore to get a low-power elevator, all you need is a gear reduction to move at a slower speed.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday October 27 2016, @08:52AM
those with arthritic hands, wheelchairs, .... would have serious issues with this thing
You don't understand. You saw the future this is meant for in Soylent Green, for which I guess these inventors cannot wait. The people you mention will have long been gone to the euthanasia booths.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday October 27 2016, @03:19PM
I have a solution for an emergency escape: a spiral chute, like you see at water parks. People just jump in, one at a time, and slide out of the building at high speed. Perhaps have it automatically activate a big airbag at the bottom for people to land on. (It needs to be a spiral to keep the speeds down compared to freefall in a vertical tube, but the spiral needs to be fairly steep since there's no water for lubrication.)