Click in the air and the elevator will take you to the floor you want. This may sound like a science fiction movie scene, but it is not so in Hefei, capital of east China´s Anhui Province.
The control panel for the non-touch elevator is a new product that was used amid the outbreak of the new Corona virus to avoid transient infection, as elevators, especially buttons, may cause a high-risk infection, according to health experts.
Many people in China have devised ways to avoid touching the buttons. For example, using a tissue or dental cleaning stick to press the plate. "However, this is also a great waste of resources," said 25-year-old Liu Xiaoming from Hefei Hi-Tech Zone.
The building where Mr. Liu works is recently equipped with a touchless panel in the elevator. The board looks like a small box, and the passenger can simply place a finger near the button and wait until it turns from light blue to dark blue to call the elevator.
"This is fun," Liu said.
"The elevator does not need to be touched, it is a successful application of aerial photography technology without real-world media," said Han Dongzheng, president of the panel´s inventor, Speedade.
"The product has been used in hospitals and government departments in Hefei. It will also be applied in Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai and more places in the near future," Han added.
