China has come up with a lot of ways to avoid touching elevator buttons during the Covid-19 epidemic to help avoid the risk of touching potentially contaminated surfaces. People have been using toothpicks and lighters to avoid using their fingers, and some buildings have adopted voice control systems. But perhaps the most innovative solution so far is holographic buttons.
At least one elevator in the eastern city of Hefei now lets people enter their floor number using holographic images of buttons. The technology hasn’t been widely used, but it’s not new. Google filed for a patent for similar technology in 2003. Easpeed, the company behind the tech used in the elevators, also has a similar touchless registration and payment machine for a hospital in Hefei, according to state media.
The company’s founder said in an interview with local media that Easpeed received more than 100 orders for its elevator button system, with each terminal costing about 15,000 yuan (US$2,163).