Smarter elevators sort riders, stand able to enforce social hierarchies

While we’re still awaiting pneumatic tubes which may whisk us to our destinations, elevators were gaining a number of IQ points. For instance, they are often voice-activated or recognize an ID badge and route riders to their floors, meaning fewer seconds staring uncomfortably until the doors open. But they are able to also track workers’ comings and goings, and managers at Philadelphia’s Curtis Center can program elevators to deliver specific employees on to them. Not coincidentally, intelligent lifts may also ensure executives rarely ought 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 stress here’s the tip of elevator democracy, but we support anything that reduces our time trapped in small metal boxes.

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This post is tagged: bank of america, comings and goings, curtis center, philadelphia, pneumatic tubes, Wall Street, wall street journal