A 23-year-old MIT graduate student has invented a revolutionary new device that will allow firefighters and soldiers to propel themselves up a rope at 10 feet per second. This equates to approximately the speed of an elevator. The invention stemmed from a 2004 Army-sponsored competition to aid soldiers.
Using high-density, lithium-ion batteries, the device, including its harness, weighs 20 pounds . . . [It] wraps rope in much the same way that a ship raises or lowers its anchor, using a capstan and tightly wound rope. Specially configured rollers and a spindle continuously pull rope through the device. A tighter grip is produced each time the rope is wrapped around a cylinder and more weight is applied to the line.
Atlas Devices, a company formed by the student and his teammates to manufacture the Powered Rope Ascender, has won a US$120,000 contract from the Army to produce several prototypes.
We may see this in wide use by several different government agencies in the near future.
[via TechNewsWorld]
