Dyson's Airblade dries hands with 400MPH blast of air

Let's say you're a company that has perfected air flow technology, cornered the high-end vacuum cleaner market, and are now looking for new product categories to conquer. Well you could leverage your copious knowledge to invent the world's most powerful air hockey table, or perhaps an air compressor with a super-snazzy industrial design, but UK-based Dyson has instead opted to tackle a problem that has plagued public restroom patrons for years -- crappy, inefficient hand dryers. Apparently the main problem with traditional hot air dryers is that they rely on evaporation to get the wet stuff off -- a process that can take up to 35 seconds and actually result in dirtier hands as people rub theirs together to speed things up (pushing bacteria deeper into skin layers and fingernails as they do so). Well Dyson is attempting to make this task both quicker and more hygienic with its new Airblade system, a revolutionary dryer that blasts a 400MPH stream of clean, unheated air through a 0.3-millimeter gap and processes the excess water with a disinfecting iodine resin filter. The end result is cleaner hands in a shorter period of time, with waste water being disbursed into the air as a fine mist instead of forming a gross little puddle on the floor. Keep reading for a profile view, and see why the Dyson engineers wisely designed the Airblade so that curious children can't stick their heads in and have their eyes blown into the back of their sockets...

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[telepheedian @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:38AM]

After washing your hands, stick them in a hole where MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE STUCK THEIR HANDS and HYGENICALLY dry them.

Am I the only person who sees something wrong with this concept?

[iptydafu @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:00PM]

Too right. That's the first thing I thought of--especially as it requires some degree of aim and coordination. And, as most people don't even bother with soap, you wind up smearing the heel of your hand all over someone-else' crotch-critters while the air-jet blows dripping gross-water onto your hand. And what if you're wearing loose jewelry or have leprosy? -How do you get your stuff back?

[chawker @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:39AM]

This is very cool, however I used something that worked just like this in Japan when I was there for business a few years back. They were in several places I went. I told people about it when I got back because I was so impressed with the faster speed for drying.

[Namarrgon @ Jun 29th 2009 9:13PM]

Ah, but was it a 400MPH airblast?

Did you *measure* it??

[Wonderboy @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:41AM]

Not only does it dry off your hands, but the pressure is so strong that it actually mollecularly separates the molecules of your hand (the second image proves it)... looks like a communist conspiracy to me. ;-)

Seriously though, looks cool. And to telepheedian's fear... you don't have to touch anything, all that will be touching your hands is 400 MPH blasted air.

[sblocca @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:41AM]

It's awesome industrial design. And for your info, you don't actually TOUCH anything. It's loads more hygienic than paper towels or current hand dryers.
The first picture makes it look like it has eyes...

[Dheera Venkatraman @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:58AM]

1. looks like it won't dry wrists. when i wash my hands i wash them well upto the wrists.
2. it looks easy to accidentally touch the edges of the opening (unhygenic).
3. people won't want to stick their hands in holes where they don't know what's going to happen. most people like to see their hands.
4. sounds like if they put these in public bathrooms, people are going to have a ball with messing the devices up by sticking other random goo into the hole. i mean, you know it's going to happen in high schools. although arguably this would be a cool addition to a home, most people probably just use their towel after washing hands well, which is a lot less wasteful than anything else.
5. i think napkins are less wasteful than electric hand dryers. it takes me on average about 5-10 button pushes (say around 5 full minutes) to get my hands completely dry with the typical electric hand dryer. this a ridiculous amount of electricity.

[Smaxm @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:45AM]

Well as chawker said this things has been in asia for years... I live in taiwan and you have this in about every toilet of every bar, so... What's the point?

[disciple83 @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:46AM]

maybe you missed the part about the disinfecting iodine resin on the inside. The only thing that gets me a little weird is the whole 400mph thing. For those who don't know, or who may have skipped over that section in the science books like telepheedian did, thats really fast, painfully fast. I know how much high pressure washers hurt and they are only pumping water between 150 adn 250mph. Although, not having to look for paper towels or wait around for the current heat dryers to even start up and get hot would be nice. I, for one, welcome our restroom tornado overlords.

[bollewolle @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:47AM]

H�h�, the picture looks like the hands are being disintegrated :-)

[Ben @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:51AM]

Haha --> agreed! I think that not just the water, but the hands too are "disbursed into the air as a fine mist" imagine how much crap is going to end up being tossed into the trough at the bottom too...good idea guys

[david ankers @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:48AM]

Great idea. I don't care who invented this first just as long as it gets rolled out quickly.

The biggest problem with current tech driers is that people leave before their hands are properly dry. Research in the UK has shown that germ transmission is higher through damp "clean" hands rather than dry dirty ones. I shudder every time I pull open the washroom door and find that it is wet.

[Phil Wolff @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:20PM]

I'm all for solving the door handle problem. That's why I like the airport rest rooms that don't have front doors.

[Daryl @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:48AM]

"she's gone from suck to blow!"

c'mon, someone must remember Spaceballs!

[Ryan Higginson @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:51AM]

I'm pretty sure the sides of the dryer are open... so it's not like you're sticking your hands into some scary abyss... Still 400mph is terrifically fast, and seems like it might be too much for the more fragile skin of the elderly...

[telepheedian @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:55AM]

I personally was shocked at 400 mph too. I just didn't put it in my first comment. I remember that there was an episode of the TV show MythBusters that proved that you could shoot a piano string right through a pine tree (and a board and even a bit of concrete wall) at about that speed. Considering that the fastest publically available car (Koniggsegg CCR) goes about 250 mph, I would not want to stick my hands in there.

Neat design, probably won't find me using it.

[Michael Brookes @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:18PM]

Actually its the Buggati Vyeron :)

[Scorpious @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:56AM]

I don't trust the 400MPH blast of air. When I worked at a plastic extrusion factory, we had high-pressure air blowers we used to clean dust off the machines and stuff, and one guy was using one to blow the dust off his arm and ended up blowing an air bubble into his skin and had to be rushed to the ER. 400MPH is WAY faster than those air nozzles we used at that job. Sounds like a receipe for disaster to me.

[SK @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:03PM]

Cool, maybe now people will start washing their hands.

[Gerald @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:57AM]

Wow, what new technology!!

We had them in Singapore years back already in a shopping centre named "Plaza Singapura".

400mph?!!!
That thing might rip your hand apart!
lol.

[mark burban @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:57AM]

mmmmmm dyson computer cases.. now that would be nicE!

[Bill @ Oct 3rd 2006 11:59AM]

I dunno. Here in the NY area we've had the XLERATOR hand dryers ( http://www.exceldryer.com/Products/xlerator.asp ) for a little while now - those things are wicked powerful and dry your hands in no time. I am also not too hot on the idea of sticking my hands inside the Dyson and, despite what people say about only the air touching your hands, I can see everyone resting their palms or grabbing on to the left hand piece of the dryer, which can't be terribly sanitary (though perhaps more sanitary than working out on exercise equipment at a fitness club or using a plain-old porta-john, I guess). YMMV.

[kansei @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:58PM]

good, I'm glad someone mentioned the xcellerators.. they do an excellent job of drying hands very quickly, not relying on evaporation like the craptastic hand dryers by that Chicago Hand Dryers company.

Are they really only in NY? really the only place I've seen them is at RIT so I know I haven't seen them outside of NY anywhere.

[Cliff Kujala @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:39PM]

The XLERATOR works great. They should replace all other dryers. However, for me personally, I like to open the door with a paper towel when I exit, because 9 times out of 10, people walk right past the sink and exit the restroom while I am washing my hands.

[tiuk @ Oct 3rd 2006 7:51PM]

They have them at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. They are pretty powerful, as one of my friends commented "thanks for punching my hands dry".

[jason @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:06PM]

Hmmm, I was actually hoping for some more article to read as this is very facinating. Recently I have been seeing some high pressure air dryers that really do speed up the drying process.
Two observations however: as the speed of the air is increased and the size of the outlet is decreased, the noise volume will become an issue. As it is now, the slow evaporative dryers aren't too quiet at all, and those high speed dryers I mentioned were atrociously loud.
Second: life-cycle. How long will they last without repair in a hostile environment like a public restroom?

Still, I'd like to learn more, specifically price.

[J-MoNeY @ Oct 3rd 2006 5:36PM]

I have a dyson vaccum cleaner, its friggin leetsauce. I almost wanna buy one of those for my own bathroom.

[Tyler @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:13PM]

can Dyson make an automatic door so that after I wash and dry my hands, the last thing I touch leaving the bathroom isn't that skanky door handle?

[Gregonater @ Jun 29th 2009 11:02PM]

LOL...that made me laugh so hard!

[davedyer4 @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:19PM]

You're all missing the point about the 400mph blast of air. It's being pushed through a slot only 0.3mm wide. Therefore the force it'll exert on the surface of your skin will be very small. But the speed will ensure that any water will be pushed off or vapourised from the skin.

[Dignan17 @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:21PM]

So I'm the first person that thinks a product you blindly stick your hands into probably shouldn't have the word "blade" in the name?

Put me down as another person who likes the concept, but only for the home.

[TexRob @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:31PM]

Turn that pic upside down and it looks like someone delivering a baby...

[Tim @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:37PM]

'Still, I'd like to learn more, specifically price.'

http://www.dysonairblade.co.uk

�549 (UK Pounds) plus tax, available November

[Euan @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:39PM]

Ive used an XLERATOR handdry. Those things are just crazy. In small toilets you can feel the pressure change in the room slightly. My hands end up looking like Jeremy Clarkson in a Ariel Atom as well.

[VBAjedi @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:46PM]

First thing I thought of when I read this was the technology (which the military has apparently tested/used) to give shots without needles. A high-speed stream of liquid vaccine literally injects itself under the skin!

So now we've got to worry about bathroom germs getting directly injected into our hands? Oh yeah, I'm gonna stick my hands in THAT!

[carl @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:00PM]

Got OCD? 5-10 button pushes to get your hands dry? I use my freakin' pants.

[GeneMack @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:06PM]

1. Yes, they have something similar in Japan. I've used them over there too. But they only have a little more force than current air dryers, not 400 mph. Even the link provided doesn't mention anything at such speeds.

2. For the person that knew somebody who blew an air bubble in their skin from an air nozzle: That's why those old air nozzles are illegal now. Shop air is usually only 80 psi, but could do a lot of damage with the old nozzles. The new nozzles now have relief holes cut around the main nozzle, so when something blocks the main port, the air exhausts out the relief ports. Now you could put the new nozzle right up to the skin and it is safe. But there are still some of the old ones out there, so be careful.

But back to the point - the reason he got an air bubble was because he took a very focused, directed pressure of air. The new Dyson is "fanning" out this air, which is must safer.

Basically, this is just the current type being used in Japan, mixed together with the Xzletor, which should work awesome.

[Carson Cole @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:17PM]

This story is totally unworthy. These things have been in Japan for a few years. They look and operate identically. Nice graphics but totally a knockoff.

[Jake @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:17PM]

No one has ever heard of cutting metal or glass with high-pressure streams of water?

Air's a lot less dense, but it's still a fluid(all gasses are just diffuse fluids, at least in Physics class they were), and at that small of an opening and that high of a speed, I can see this being a non-bladed wrist slitter before I see it as a hand dryer. Even just a bit of water dripping off someone's wrists and getting into the air opening, is going to sting the crap out of the next person's wrists, if not actually draw blood.

I've seen steam, coming out pinhole cracks in pipes at somewhere around these speeds(I think), that'll easily cut canvas. That's how they test to find where they leak is. They put a piece of canvas on a stick and when it falls in half, well... they found the leak. Canvas is a heck of a lot tougher than human skin.

[GeneMack @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:29PM]

Just to reiterate:

Firehose at full stream - knock you over and knock the wind out of you.
Firehose at full fan - refreshing, cooling spray.

Same concept.

(And do any of you really think they don't do product testing? Do you really think they would just crank up the air and throw a product on the market? Wow!)

[Jake @ Oct 3rd 2006 3:58PM]

I don't think they wouldn't do product testing, but I can see a typo being made on the whole 400 mph figure.

In my experience with high pressure air, it's not so nice. Plus, any amount of liquid getting in that thing and it's going to hurt like crap.

[cuby @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:32PM]

am i the only person on engadget who just wipes his hands on his pants, then uses a paper towel to open the bathroom door like any normal person?

[griz @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:33PM]

400mph is not too fast for a 0.3mm thick stream of air. Yes, something with as much density as water will probably rip your skin off at 400mph. Air, not so much.

[SurfedToTheEndAndBack @ Oct 3rd 2006 1:48PM]

I'm alergic to iodine. I guess I'll continue not washing my hands.

Frankly, inside my pants is the cleanest part of me during the day anyway. If anything, you should wash your hands before you touch yourself.

[Z @ Oct 3rd 2006 2:23PM]

We could always just use paper towels. I prefer those, anyway.

[Max @ Oct 3rd 2006 2:41PM]

The primary issue is the design itself. Anything that resembles a recepticle is going to be abused in a public restroom environment. This dryer will get trash, liquid and who knows what else thrown into it.....rendering it useless.

Neat idea, but totally impractical for a public restroom environment.

[db @ Oct 3rd 2006 2:59PM]

400mph airflow isn't so scary. A human sneeze can exceed 100mph.

[J-J @ Oct 3rd 2006 3:15PM]

Cool as it looks, and as well as it may work, I'm not sticking my hand into anything with "blade" in the name. What were they thinking?

[Michael La Framboise @ Oct 3rd 2006 3:18PM]

! I want one of these things at home! - I mean just imagine all the 'wow, wtf is that' comments you'd get from your friends :)

[Euan @ Oct 3rd 2006 3:32PM]

I think this is really just for up market bars that are less likely to have customers that are going to beat the shit out of it.