As more and more cities battle urban sprawl by building taller and
more densely-packed buildings, threats from fire, terrorism or similar
calamities become more pronounced, especially for people living and
working on the upper floors where the designated exits are their only
options. But this lifesaving device aims to gently lower its wearer to
safety from 25 storeys up.
Built by Israeli firm SkySaverUSA (the same folks that are working on the AirMule UAV ambulance) and bearing the same name, the SkySaver system is a self-contained, personal evac kit designed to provide people trapped on the upper floors of buildings an alternate means of egress — specifically, rappelling down the side of the building.
The Skysaver is available in two sizes — a 10kg version with 50m of fire-resistant cord for $US500 and an 80m, 12kg, $US850 version — both of which can support up to 130kg of person.
The system fits in a backpack and is put on as such. The user then anchors the rope to something sturdy and dives out the window.
From there the automated line feeding and braking functions will steadily lower the user at a rate of 2m/s until they reach the ground or the rope runs out. [SkysaverUSA via Kitup]
