London engineer develops curved escalator

Prof Jack Levy’s conveyance, dubbed the Levytator, can be designed into any shape, so architects can incorporate escalators in a continuous loop that follow curves rather than travel in straight lines. Potential sites for use include hotels, airports, museums and theme parks.

‘I’m a Londoner and I’ve been travelling on escalators all my life,’ said Levy, an Emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at City University London. ‘It occurred to me: ’Why are they all straight? Why can’t we go around corners on them?’ and I took it from there.’

Powered by what Levy described as a ‘fairly conventional powertrain’, the new design moves a continuous loop of curved steps, which can follow any path upwards, flatten and straighten, and descend again with passengers onboard.

This marks a departure from traditional escalator design where redundant steps move underneath those in use.

‘There are two issues here: it is a terrible waste of steps and maintenance is a nightmare,’ said Levy. ‘The Levytator is designed so that all the maintenance can be done from the top, so it is very much easier. Also, because it’s in a loop, the cost per useable step is much less than in a conventional escalator – you get twice the steps for your money.’