On 9/13/2011 8:48 PM, Bob F wrote:
Robert Green wrote:
So here's the question. Has anyone ever seen or even thought about
designing a home-brewed "safe" stairway? I've been thinking about a
collection of airbags (or one superlarge one) at the bottom of the
stairs, triggered by some sort of detector circuit that could detect
a human falling down the stairs faster than normal walking.

Rather than airbags, quickly deploying nets might be simpler. Imagine channels
on each side perpendicular to the slope of the stairs with wheels in it attached
to the net, which could be pulled from above with cables or pushed from below
with spring loaded rods. The net could be concealed in the stair risers.



I'm having trouble believing this conversation is going on .. a nice
soft landing is peachy keen to think about. A falling body isn't going
to "aim" for safety and whatever it hits first will hurt most.

Might be safer, if the person can walk with support, to install another
rail so that he has support on both sides (like using a walker); could
have some sort of rig so that the extra rail lifts away to allow normal
access on the stairs.

In addition, secure flooring, good lighting, etc are important. Does
the man have daily calls from family to check on him? Red Cross used to
do that, summon cops if no response.