national institute of standards and technology

In the recent Robocup 2009 games, in which robots compete for prizes and glory, entrants from many nations held their own. In categories including small, medium, humanoid, 2-D simulation, and 3-D simulation, teams from the U.S., China, Germany, Iran, and quite a few other robot-producing countries played and won.

However, on the smallest playing field of all, there was one clear winner.

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Forget the stairs. An engineer with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says that it makes sense to rely more on elevators when evacuating high-rise buildings, since descending steps can be too slow, and overly taxing for those who aren't in good health. In an evacuation, elevators could be programmed to empty the upper floors first, and work down from the top, regardless of how often or firmly the people on the floors below are pressing their call buttons. Of course, people on the lower floors could still race down the stairs. But this new system would focus more on saving the occupants who have 50 stories to descend, and not a lot of time to do it.—Gregory Mone 

Via Newswise

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