Nearly two and half years ago bespoken featured a thought provoking concept that came within our sights. Today it has bleeped its way onto our radar once again in the shape of a wholly more successful endeavour. What’s the story with vertical walking?

Flupper, as it was called back in September 2014 when we first featured it, is today known as VertiWalk (a better name if we’re being honest). It uses a very clever pulley system to enable a person to reach different floors in a house by physically winching themselves up and down while sat in a chair.

It sounds exhausting, but the whole point is in fact that it uses only 10% of the energy used for walking up and down stairs.

Here’s a video of it in action to help you get the idea…

Who’s it for?

So the first thing to say is that obviously it is not a universally accessible design and it isn’t suited to a lot of circumstances. Critics point out that if one or both of your hands are needed to hold something, the concept falls flat. Wheelchairs cannot go on this at all either.

However some people who have limited mobility may well benefit from this. If someone uses a walking stick for example, is unsteady on their feet or has muscle weakness in their lower body, this could be an innovative and practical solution.

“Why get this installed in your house and not just a lift?” you ask. Well a lift if going to be considerably more expensive, harder to install and liable to break down due to an electrical fault. The VertiWalk looks like the materials are a lot cheaper and it relies on a mechanism which requires no electricity and is powered only by the human body.

So apart from a new name, what’s the latest with VertiWalk? The brainchild of Frieling Rombout, a designer based in the Netherlands, it has undergone more rigorous testing including with a user who has Multiple Sclerosis and is broadening its appeal as an alternative for future expansion of cities where, they argue, tall buildings will be the norm. Admittedly I’m not sure who will be keen to winch themselves up 50 floor skyscrapers even if it does require less energy. For homes with an upstairs however I can absolutely see the potential of this design. For people with limited mobility it could provide a simple, easy to use and maintain solution. The likely cost is yet to be determined.

What do you make of VertiWalk? Clever alternative or poorly thought out gimmick?

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