« on: June 28, 2017, 01:40:36 am »
Like flying cars, elevators that go sideways have always felt like something that should have been invented a long time ago. A German elevator company, Thyssenkrupp, has actually done it. Tom Scott couldn't pass up the chance to see it.
The elevator, called a Multi, throws out the standard rope and pulley method for technology that uses "linear motor technology developed for the magnetic levitation Transrapid train," according to the company's website. This way the elevator can turn at 90 degrees and move effortlessly sideways in a way that a rider would never notice from the inside.
As for who would actually need a Multi, Thyssenkrupp points towards increasing global populations and the need to house more and more people in different types of structures. Two-dimensional elevator systems, the company says, would be able to turn traveling in a building into an experience similar to using a rail system. " Buildings are becoming like vertical cities," says Markus Jetter, Head of Research on the company's website, "and they need a flexible transport sytem similar to a metro. Speed alone does not solve the challenges posed by tall buildings."
The Multi already has a customer lined up, a new office building in Berlin. Anyone who has spent time waiting in line for an elevator will be watching closely to see how it turns out.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a27090/sideways-elevators-building-subway/?src=nl&mag=pop&list=nl_pnl_news&date=062717
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