elevator
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Cable-free elevator moves you in any direction
Elevators are absolutely vital in tall buildings, but they have their limits -- they can only move so quickly, and they can't usually move sideways to fetch you from the far side of a building. Both of those problems should be solved at once if German firm ThyssenKrupp has its way. Its new Multi elevators ditch cables in favor of magnetic linear motor technology (also used in maglev trains) to move both horizontally and vertically, letting them service very wide or unusually shaped buildings. They can operate in loops and aren't limited by heights, either, so it's easy to put multiple elevator cars in one shaft. You'll ideally never wait longer than 30 seconds for a lift, and the space-saving design lets building owners offer more (or at least larger) apartments and offices.
Hitachi is building the world's fastest elevator: 95 floors in 43 seconds
In 2016, Hitachi will take over Toshiba's title as the maker of the fastest elevator in the world. The Japanese company's slated to install two lifts that move at a swift 45mph inside China's Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, currently under construction. Apparently, you can reach the 95th floor (the building will have 111 floors in all) straight from the ground in just 43 seconds on one of these zippy elevators -- hardly long enough to freshen up before reaching the office. Toshiba's current record-holding lifts in Taipei 101 (a skyscraper in Taiwan) ferry people up and down floors at only 38mph.
Liftport turns to Kickstarter for space elevator experiment (video)
Space elevators are slowly making the transition from science fiction to science fact... but we're not quite there yet. LiftPort, a group that already holds the record for tallest elevator, is taking a second stab at the technology after going into "hibernation" in 2007. Founder Michael Laine has resurrected the company and taken to Kickstarter to drum up interest (as well as a little cash) in his latest project -- a lunar elevator. As Laine explains in the video, an elevator from the surface of the Moon to a rendezvous point between the Earth and its satellite is actually possible using current technology. And, thanks to its low gravity and lack of atmosphere, a much simpler construction site. The first step is a $1 million feasibility study that will involve a two kilometer tall elevator here on Earth. LiftPort has already far exceeded its Kickstarter goal of $8,000, but the point was never to fund the entire project. The hope was to garner some media attention and get people involved and invested (both financially and emotionally) by offering rewards. You could even pledge enough money to base jump from the top of the tethered research tower, which will be held aloft by helium balloons. For more info check out the video after the break and hit up the source link to pledge your hard earned cash.
Mitsubishi Electric to build world's fastest elevator, usher in the death of small talk
Cheer up, ladies, because Mitsubishi Electric is about to make your elevator ride substantially less awkward. Yesterday, the company unveiled plans to construct what it hopes will become the world's fastest lifts, as part of a new project in China. The forthcoming set of elevators will be housed within the still-incomplete Shanghai Tower, where they'll travel between the basement and 119th floor at a speed of 59 feet per second -- a rate that would narrowly eclipse the current Guinness world record, which sits at about 55 feet per second. These elevators, of course, would be significantly slower if they were filled with vomit, which is why Mitsubishi will add active roller guides, vibration-dampening roof covers and pneumatic controls to make the ride a bit easier on the human body. Unfortunately, it'll be a while before these flesh wagons enter the record books, as the Shanghai Tower likely won't be completed until 2014. Willy Wonka, however, has already begun the appeals process. Elevate past the break for more information in the full press release. [Image courtesy of AMC]
Smarter elevators sort riders, stand ready to enforce social hierarchies
While we're still awaiting pneumatic tubes that can whisk us to our destinations, elevators have been gaining a few IQ points. For example, they can be voice-activated or recognize an ID badge and route riders to their floors, meaning fewer seconds staring uncomfortably until the doors open. But they can also track workers' comings and goings, and bosses at Philadelphia's Curtis Center can program elevators to deliver specific employees directly to them. Not coincidentally, intelligent lifts can also ensure executives rarely have to ride alongside the hoi polloi -- a feature Bank of America, for one, paid for but says it doesn't use. The Wall Street Journal seems to worry this is the end of elevator democracy, but we support anything that reduces our time trapped in small metal boxes.
Japanese elevators get voice recognition, Japanese elevator rides get even more awkward
We here at Engadget are all about helping the less fortunate, so Mitsubishi Electric's latest innovation in elevator tech has us all warm and fuzzy. The new interface allows for blind users -- and presumably lazy users -- to select their destination floor by voice, with a subsequent announcement when they arrive. Additionally, the system kicks in whenever it detects a wheelchair, replacing the potentially difficult process of reaching high buttons with the simple act of speaking. No word on whether the system works in English just yet or if it'll make it to the States, but you might want to brush up on your Japanese either way.
Patch 4.1 PTR: WoW now tracking your BWD elevator deaths
The Blackwing Descent elevator is the greatest destroyer of raids since every moving piece of Serpentshrine Caverns. In patch 4.1, Blizzard will be tracking the number of times the great Lord of Elevators claims your pitiful, mortal existence. This is one of those times when my eyes widen with happiness at seeing how high I can get a number in a video game. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
Mass Effect 2 ditching elevators for ... load screens
Expanding upon statements from BioWare's Casey Hudson earlier this year, associate programmer Thomas Roy took to the developer's forums (requires login) recently to explain how Mass Effect 2 would be handling the promised lack of elevators (used in place of loading screens). As it turns out, rather than executing on BioWares's promise of "a completely new system" that's "part of the game experience," the studio will be implementing "loading screens and movies." Though the game will still ask players to walk into an elevator, it will apparently cue up a loading screen that offers "interesting visuals and information." We'd like to point out that before Mr. Roy explains any of this, he says that the first game used elevators "so we [BioWare] didn't have to show boring loading screens" and they only made it into the second due to "a lot of complaints." We're so broken up here -- on one hand, the developer is caving to the demands of the fans and critics. Score! On the other hand, Mr. Roy is telling us that loading screens are totally boring. If we demanded it, does that mean we're boring? Great, now we've got a total complex. [Via Kotaku]%Gallery-70022%
New Spyborgs trailer goes up
We find it funny that Capcom is celebrating the existence of an elevator level in Spyborgs with this trailer -- elevator levels are basically the laziest way to design a brawler level, requiring only a persistent floor, a looping background and frequent enemy drops from the top of the screen.That said, if you like brawlers, you probably like the opportunity to just beat up a pile of enemies without distractions like walking around. We know we do. And the more we think about it, the more we feel that focusing on the elevator level shows a certain level of familiarity with the staples of the brawling genre that is a bit comforting.
Around Azeroth: Why do trolls have tusks?
Why do trolls have tusks? Why better to save them from the Undercity's elevator of death! If you are not familiar with this diabolical mechanism, if you time it just wrong, you can walk on to or off of the elevator platform just as the platform is descending again -- resulting in a fall that's just far enough to kill you. However, if you're lucky (or a troll!) there's a narrow invisible platform you can save yourself on until the platform comes up again and you can open the door. Thanks, Ray, for the shot!Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! You can attach a picture file or send us a link to one -- and don't worry about formatting, we'll take care of that part. See more of your pics from Around Azeroth. %Gallery-1816%
Flickr Find: Griffin Elevator
It's a desktop stand for laptop computers. Retailing at $40, it's just now hitting the shelves.
Griffin Elevator
We blogged about a possible update to Griffin's iCurve in October, but now it looks official. The Elevator seems to be the iCurve's less curvy replacement. It does the same thing, that is lift up your laptop and make it even with an external display, but it does it with a new style.The Elevator costs $39.99 and it appears to be available now.Thanks, David.
TUAW Gives Thanks: Ginza Elevator Graphics
On this day of excess tryptophan and annoying relatives, it's important to take a minute and give thanks for the things we enjoy, yet take for granted the rest of the year. This year, I'm thankful that I get to sit around and blog about a company that cares enough about design to go that extra step in everything it does, including elevators. Where other companies would put simple buttons, Apple placed an elegant masterpiece of interaction design in front of the elevator at its flagship Ginza store in Tokyo. I've long been impressed by the motion graphics work produced by Apple, but I have to say that this is by far one of my favorites. Enjoy, and happy turkey day![via Cult of Mac]
NASA's second annual Tether Challenge beset by controversy, yields no winner
Apparently building space elevators in one's spare time is becoming a common hobby for jobless entrepreneurial engineers, as a bevy of eager teams set out to best NASA's "house tether" in order to get their rendition approved for intergalactic use. The contest requires that teams create cabling that weighs under two grams, sports a fiber loop with a circumference of at least two meters, and can withstand more weight (upwards of 1,662 pounds) than NASA's three-gram edition. While last year's shindig ended sans a winning party, NASA quadrupled the prize to $200,000 in order to attract more serious competition, but failed to crown a champion yet again. Three teams were immediately disqualified due to loop circumferences being less than the compulsory two meters, which sparked a "heated debate with contest organizers" about the supposed clarity of the rules. While a plethora of geeky expletives were presumably hurled, NASA only allowed the rule-abiding Astroaraneae team to officially compete -- but the Aerojet employees fell a bit short as their line snapped after withstanding 1,336 pounds of force. While we aren't sure if next year's challenge will offer an even larger purse (or yield an actual winner), we're fairly certain that the rulebook will be exorbitantly straightforward if nothing else.
Apple's 5th avenue store elevator gets stuck
Not all visitors of the NYC 5th Avenue Apple Store are having the retail experience of their lives, as one group of customers were trapped in the glass elevator for 45 minutes. Ultimately, the hydraulic lines had to be leaked in order to lower the elevator down to the store where the NYPD had to pry the doors open. Store employees who were looking for a fix before the boys in blue arrived were able to lower water bottles down into the elevator.I wonder if this is what happens when you leave the Apple Store without purchasing anything?[via UNEASYsilence. Thanks also to everyone who sent this in!]
