On the recent trip at the airport I took one of those Moving sidewalk, the good thing about them, is if you are walking on them, you are moving at roughly 5-6 mph, which is pretty good, but can be significantly improved to say 20mph. What we need is something that will gradually increase speed at the start and end of the moving speed until it reaches the middle and decelarate at the exit. This maybe done through several methods, e.g. if the metal sidewalk can shrink and expand at the start/end of the walkway we can effectively accomplish a slowdown/accelation of the walkway where we need it.
-- romanmar, Jan 09 2007

Moving Sidewalk With Passing Lanes Moving_20sidewalk_2...h_20passing_20lanes
[pluterday]'s prior discussion of a very similar idea. [jurist, Jan 09 2007]

Staged Moving Walkway Staged_20Moving_20Walkway
Another discussion from [FloridaManatee] [jurist, Jan 09 2007]

folding cup http://www.sz-whole...s/060615120054s.jpg
[romanmar, Jan 10 2007]

He's saying the conveyer belt doesn't have the same speed over the entire belt but rather speeds up in the middle.
-- theleopard, Jan 09 2007


but how might that work? [romanmar] ... Are you suggesting a walkway with three sections, slow-quick-slow? If so, you'll need to install crash mats as people will get thrown off as they progress from the quick to the slow... tis inertia you know.
-- jonthegeologist, Jan 09 2007


Sounds like a good way to learn moshing.
-- skinflaps, Jan 09 2007


Robert Heinlein, "The Roads Must Roll", 1940.

This is probably a Heinlein rediscovery; you can read an earlier version of this concept - the moving roadway from H.G. Wells' 1899 story When the Sleeper Wakes. The first commercial passenger conveyor belt was built in 1954 (by Goodyear for the Hudson and Manhattan railroad).

By the way, the "electric stairway", or escalator, was introduced in 1900.
-- normzone, Jan 09 2007


The metal walkway can shrink and expand, by that I mean a mechanical design that will allow it to expand when it needs to achieve slower speeds, and shrink when it needs to achieve faster speeds. The design would resemble that of a cup that goes on top of umbrellas, a folding cup, or some other foldable/collapsable design. At the start of the walkway it will expand, to slow speed, then shrink to gain speed, and then expand again to slow speed at the end of walkway. Since the expansion/contraction can be controlled, the accelleration/decelaration will be gradual, and no crash mats will be needed.
-- romanmar, Jan 10 2007


//The metal walkway can shrink and expand...// ...which is exactly what [FarmerJohn] described in his first annotation to the "Staged Moving Walkway" idea linked at left.
-- jurist, Jan 10 2007


Oh, it should start speed at 3-4 mph, the usual speed of current walkways. The only problem to it that i see is people in the middle will be crammed together which can be solved by building a wider walkway
-- romanmar, Jan 10 2007


FarmerJohn's idea involves two speeds, where each jump in speed can not be bigger than 3mph e.g. Mine allows for speeds of 20mph and faster, as acceleration/decelaration is gradual.
-- romanmar, Jan 10 2007


//air resistance at that speed would still knock you over like a bowling pin//

Why, you must be as light as a feather.
-- ldischler, Jan 10 2007



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