Escalators are everywhere – taking people up and down in airports, shopping malls, even museums. There’s a decidedly revolutionary concept called the Levytator that will be both energy efficient and aesthetically amazing.

This new escalator will be curved, rather than the traditional style. Developed by City University London emeritus professor of mechanical engineering Jack Levy, the so-called Levytator will be a continuous loop of curved modules. These innovative steps can go up, flatten, and curve around, then straighten out and take riders down again. It’s all one continuous looping path, bringing to mind Robert Heinlein’s story “The Roads Must Roll”.

Levy says his creatively designed escalator will become a single power source that will replace the standard two escalator configuration. This means the weight of passengers traveling down will offset the weight of those traveling up, creating ‘substantial’ energy savings. The designer says a fully loaded Levytator, with a full compliment of both up and down riders, will use around 80 percent of the power of two traditional escalators working in tandem.

A fascinating and clever idea, and one that promises to save on electric bills wherever it ends up. It could be a lot of fun to ride too!