'Levytators' Could Usher In An Era Of Funky Escalators
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Ever wonder why escalators have the same boring rectangular stairs and relatively straight look? Jack Levy from City University London certainly did and has come up with a radical design that not only makes them more exciting to ride on, but also, more cost-efficient.
Mr. Levy's 'Levytator' replaces the traditional bulky stairs with sleek-looking curved modules. Also, instead of the redundant stairs retracting under each other as is currently the case, these are placed next to each other and move in a continuous loop.
While the Mechanical Engineering professor's main motive for creating the new design was to give architects the freedom to dream-up cooler escalators (think museums with DNA-Helix shaped escalators), the Levytator has an additional edge compared to conventional escalators - It cuts energy costs in half!
Currently, escalators need two motors - one to carry passengers up, the other to power them down. Thanks to its circular loop, the Levytator requires only one motor to ferry them both up and down. And, it seems that the weight of passengers traveling up counterbalances those coming down, and helps cut the energy usage even further. The best part is, that his design has already been tested in the real world which means, that we may be cruising up and down some funky looking escalators, pretty soon.
Resources: news.discovery.com, gizmag.com
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261 Comments
- aweabout 13 yearsluv it
- Ducky77 AKA Torreyabout 13 yearsAnother fun fact I learned was that Jack Levy created the Levytators. We might have cool new escalaters! My last fact is that levytators can go in any design- straight, up, down, left, and right!
- Ducky77 AKATorreyabout 13 yearsOne fun fact I learned is that Levytators save a lot of money. Leveytators also loop around in a circle unlike regular escalators. Leveytators only need one moter rather than two on an escalator.
- Baylyabout 13 years1. One intrestin fact is that we might have cool new escalators. 2. Another intrestin fact is it cuts down energy costs in a fun way. 3. Also you could do really cool designs instead of the reguluar straigt up and sraight down. 4.Plus It has a new name "Levytator" 5. Lastly it was meant to inspire other architects
wolfabout 13 yearsthese are awesome escalators... lol- Jakeabout 13 yearsi love going on escolaters because i like hights so these ones curve and they look cool so now i am waiting untill they come out.i also like walking up the down ones because you you dont stop untill you reach the top.
babby023about 13 yearsSOOO COOL- babby023about 13 yearsSOOO COOL
- Yu xuan about 13 yearsI hope we get those levytators in Singapore soon!
- alyabout 13 yearswow that is sooo cool