Revolutionary 'Sushi-lator'

The escalator has traditionally travelled up or down in a straight line, but a new design by a professor at City University London has made the escalator capable of following free-form curves, the Daily Mail of London reported. It is being nicknamed the "Sushi-lator" because of its curved modules, which resemble the conveyor belts used to deliver food in Japanese restaurants. The design has already been patented in Europe, the US and China and the "Sushi-lator" could be cropping up in public buildings and shopping centers by mid-2012.


The traditional escalator works by looping its stairs underneath the staircase to take them back to the start. Half the steps are therefore hidden away and never in use. In addition, the "up" and "down" escalators require 2 separate loops. The "Sushi-lator," on the other hand, has one single loop, making it a cheaper proposition because fewer steps are required.