Is This Your Grandkid’s Door?
By Montag | Related entries in Kitchen Sink, TechnologyWe Make Money Not Art reports on a new invention out of Japan:
Tanaka Seisakusyo’s new Automatic Door is the most puzzling thing I’ve seen this week.
The door is segmented into multiple strips and opens minimally according to the shape of the individual, animal or object that has to pass through. It also incorporates a security function that identifies people. The door is activated by the infrared sensors (the small black areas attached at the inner edges of the strips).
There is video of this door in action here.
What is the purpose of such a door?
The main aim of this invention is to better protect a room from dust, pollen, bugs, germs etc. It could also be used for room-size freezers. In addition, it helps save the energy needed for air-conditioning.
We Make Money Not Art: Automatic door… Japan style
Hmmm. How much ‘better’ does this door protect a room? I mean dust, pollen, bugs and germs are pretty small, and will still fit through the smaller opening, no? As with Repliee Q1Expo, the almost-human-looking android, this seems like another case where the invention’s purpose is almost an afterthought to development and execution of the really neat idea.
So is this what happens when R & D funding isn’t driven by the military?
This entry was posted on Friday, August 19th, 2005 and is filed under Kitchen Sink, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 19th, 2005 at 7:43 am
[...] « Is This Your Grandkid’s Door? [...]
August 19th, 2005 at 9:12 am
How much ‘better’ does this door protect a room? I mean dust, pollen, bugs and germs are pretty small, and will still fit through the smaller opening, no?
Yes, but not nearly as many of them at one time. Your typical door frame is roughly 7′ x 3′ = 21 square feet of opening for all those little critters to get through when the door is open. But with this new segmented door, it looks like only 40% of it is usually open at any time when someone passes through it. That means 60% of those critters that try to enter the room when the door is open will still bump into the door instead. Of course, most of the remaining 40% will just bump into the person instead, but could still get through if they cling to that person as s/he’s coming through.
That said, it seems to me that the security function that IDs specific people would be a much more useful feature for most people and businesses.