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BEST use of a new product
Today
I've seen in a MIT
Technology Review article a
very
interesting new product
developed by a group of MIT student that founded a new Cambridge,
MA startup company
called Atlas
Devices: a
20 lbs (9
kg)
"rope-climbing
device"
(powered with new fast-charging, high-power high-density lithium-ion
batteries) able to lift up to 250
lbs
(114
kg)
at the speed of 10
feet
(3
meters)
per
second!
Despite the Atlas Devices website's home page suggests a military use for this new device, it's BEST use (as the MIT's article suggests) clearly is to help the FIREMEN in their work, since this new "rope-climbing-device" can lift a fully-equiped fireman up to the 30th floor of a building in less than a minute while staying away from fire and with less physical effort than climb the building through its thousands steps stairs!
However,
I think that this new
device needs a "companion"
to help the firemen and rescue workers to save MANY
human lives: a set of ready
to deploy
(on every
high building)
and
easy
to use
"multi-ropes
skyscrapers' emergency external elevators"
that may offer
many
fast
ways
to go up and down from a building (or simply to use as further escape
ways)
keeping (both)
the rescue
workers/firemen
and the saved
peoples
very much away
from the building's fire flames!
A further good idea is add to every building many upside/downside "roper's stretching/locking" devices (the small blue blocks in the image) to avoid possible (dangerous) fluctuations for the rescue workers, saved peoples and rescue equipments while sent up and down the ropes.
Of course, these multi-ropes' external elevators will be not always "open" but just activated in case of emergency (directly from the people inside the building or also remote-controlled from the rescue squads) so that "ropes" don't transform the city in a jungle... :)
Since this device appears easy to use and may become reasonable priced (if mass produced) ...someday... eveybody will be able to climb mountains with a small physical effort... :)
February 20 - 2007
>>>>>> If you talk/discuss about this argument on space forums/blogs/websites/magazines/articles please refer to the source of the idea and/or put a link to this article. Thank You. <<<<<<<<<<
Copyright © 2007 Gaetano Marano - All rights reserved - the rope-climbing device image is © Atlas Devices and MIT
