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Super Door of the Future
romka1 writes "Japanese scientists came up with a new automatic sliding door that opens to the approximate shape of the person or object passing through, minimizing entry of dust, pollen, and bugs while keeping precious air-conditioning in. Here is a Real Demo Video"
OK.. seen the video and this things seems to be working a lot worse than I thought it would. Really, people are going to be hurt using this!
Really.. are we having that much problems with doors?
- Henrik
- when the Shadows descend -
Take a whole bunch of these and stack them up in series. As you approach each one, it opens as closes again behind you as you pass. You end up in a moving bubble. That would be cool.
The Japanese are now accustomed to automatic doors. After I spent a few months there, upon returning to the US I'd sometimes wait at a public door until I remembered it wouldn't open. Thus revolving doors are expected to be automatic too. Unfortunately, making a door like that safe is tricky, and there's a very famous case of a toddler dying in a automatic revolving door (see here). I don't think anyone in Japan is going to install a revolving door for a while, what with people calling them deathtraps (even if all the issues were fixed). Ford didn't exactly release the Pinto 2.
Also, there is of course the cool factor of having a door like the one in TFA. It might attract a few more people to come into your shop. Combined with an ordinary slinding outer double-door, it could be pretty good at sealing things too.
I think you miss the point of the story. A hint is burried in the last sentence:
/..jp think about it. )
Quote: The technology for the new design seems to be in it's infancy, but Japan has proven once again that it's a least 10 years ahead of everyone else.
It's simply a gadget to troll for sarcastic comments from the clueless gaijin. ( I wonder what the people at
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I'll second what ultranova said - that positive pressure ventilation keeps the dust out. It's even used in instruments inside clean rooms - after probing wafers, we put them inside a small case (1 foot x 1 foot x 4 feet tall) that is even cleaner than the room (already a class 100 room - everyone in bunny suits, but no breathing apparatus)
But, mostly, entrance and exit are done with a double-door system. Open the first door, step in, close it. Then the timers activate the blowers and dust is removed from your suit. Then the inner door unlocks and you go in, freshly dusted off. There is an interlock that prevents both doors from opening at the same time.
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
The primary benefits for abs over non-abs kick in when that static friction is lost (with non-abs), and for light cars that takes considerably longer than SUVs and large trucks (where the momentum is enough to almost instantly cancel out any static friction between rubber tires and road surface).
If a lighter car (such as my own 2300-2400 lb '99 Corolla) is equipped with abs there is significant loss in braking power when the brake is NOT engaged (ie when the abs is releasing to allow disk brakes to momentarily cool, and for the wheel to rotate). This loss is not completely covered by the added friction (and braking power, as a result) when abs IS engaged.
For one of these 4000-5000 lb monstrosities (or more), you WOULD have to be an expert to keep pace with the abs, and even the abs is far from the optimum engage/disengage rate. As the soccer moms keep demanding larger and larger gas guzzlers, the antilock brake industry is hard pressed to keep pace.
On something of a side note, BMW has recently utilized some incredible breakthroughs in the technology, which led them to the Multiple-Brake-Light-Intensity 'warning system' on their vehicles, to warn following cars that the BMW is braking rapidly and to hopefully avoid being rearended. If I remember correctly the initial cost was somewhere in the whereabouts of $10k per brake, however, so just keep an eye out for the higher end beemers. :)