May 23, 2011 03:01 pm EDT

Smarter elevators sort riders, stand ready to enforce social hierarchies

While we're still awaiting pneumatic tubes that can whisk us to our destinations, elevators have been gaining a few IQ points. For example, they can be voice-activated or recognize an ID badge and route riders to their floors, meaning fewer seconds staring uncomfortably until the doors open. But they can also track workers' comings and goings, and bosses at Philadelphia's Curtis Center can program elevators to deliver specific employees directly to them. Not coincidentally, intelligent lifts can also ensure executives rarely have to ride alongside the hoi polloi -- a feature Bank of America, for one, paid for but says it doesn't use. The Wall Street Journal seems to worry this is the end of elevator democracy, but we support anything that reduces our time trapped in small metal boxes.

Smarter elevators sort riders, stand ready to enforce social hierarchies originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | The Wall Street Journal ||Comments

Original Link: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/23/smarter-elevators-sort-riders-stand-ready-to-enforce-social-hie/

View Full Article

Engadget

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics. Engadget was launched in March of 2004 in partnership with the Weblogs, Inc. Network (WI

More About this Source Visit Engadget