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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: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday October 26 2016, @09:16PM
It's neat, and maybe there's a niche for it to supplement elevators and escalators. Perhaps it takes less maintenance than those classic contraptions. But it's not as good as a plain old stairway, which has no moving parts. A freight elevator is best for heavy and bulky objects.
The stairway is in turn inferior to a gently sloping ramp. The big disadvantage of a ramp is that it can take a lot more room. (And, I suppose another disadvantage is that Daleks can use them.) Really, it's nutty how we're so in love with perfectly flat and level surfaces that we just won't use ramps. Took laws requiring access for the disabled to get more ramps included in building and city design.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 26 2016, @09:38PM
Ramps are great for small elevations, but replacing stairs and elevators with ramps would require a massive amount of extra space as you say. In most cities real estate is at a premium so it makes perfect sense for ramps to be ignored for most vertical travel. Some buildings have used ramps, so far they seem to be malls or museums. Every other building is too concerned about usable sqft.