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Comment by matthewdgreen | Hacker News Reader

If you’re looking for an exciting elevator, then you want Paternoster doorless elevators. https://youtu.be/Rvvbn7O1nus?si=kwZsCp4OtkRfhE9A

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I loved it's hackier relative, the Belt Manlift, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_manlift

https://youtu.be/hI0klJJNLHA gives a view.

While watching that video, my first thought was about safeguards. Will it stop if obstructed? How often has someone gotten injured or killed by such a device?

There are plenty of videos of people dying in regular elevators that lack the inner safety door.

Typical is the someone wheels a large object like a trash bin or stacked boxes and then the edge catches on a landing and crushes an occupant against the top rear corner.

Search for "klamrisk" to see an interesting warning sign about that.

I get anxiety just watching these elevators. I'll take the stairs thanks.

I really want these to be a thing again. So many buildings have a pair of elevators that simply can't handle the various rushes during the day. Leave one traditional elevator for the edge cases, and replace the other with 2 or 4 paternoster cars.

> and replace the other with 2 or 4 paternoster cars.

Why 2 or 4? The whole idea of a paternoster is that there always is a car at every floor (see the animation and videos at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster_lift)

If there wasn’t, they would be really dangerous, as you could step into the elevator shaft while the nearest car was ten floors down.

What I mean is that the paternoster is usually smaller than an elevator. So in the vertical footprint of a typical elevator, I think you could fit 1 or 2 paternosters (2 to 4 cars, since each paternoster has 1 car in each direction looking vertically).

I’m waiting for a real world implementation of an elevator that moves horizontally and vertically. There are a number of promo videos for it, but nothing actualized.

The Schmid Peoplemover exists, and looks to be a one of a kind, it feels like these end up being more complex than it’s worth Tom Scott video here: https://youtu.be/A2g4u9F9i90

Too bad Americans can’t be trusted with these. (Source: am American.)

I was too scared to try it while in the czech republic (brno).

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