As part of the Saleme project, Tecnalia Research and Innovation is participating with other Spanish companies such as Tesa and Ingema, Demesel and the Matia Gerontology Institute and has developed a new door or an emergency exit for people who do not have mobility.
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Though emergency exits are easy to open and are very useful when it is necessary to evacuate the building, opening the door by pressing against the bar can be a very difficult process when there is low visibility and depends on the functional capacity and the state of consciousness of users. This door has been developed particularly for hospitals, industrial premises and public areas.
Though in appearance, the new door is like the regular doors that are in use at present, the exit mechanism gets activated when the door detects slight body pressure. The door is fitted with sensors in order to activate the panic exit device. This feature is particularly useful when there is a need to evacuate a large number of people. The final testing for this door was done by a large group of people at the Hospital Bermingham of the Matia Foundation at Basque Country. The users included senior citizens, people from the hospital’s day care and other people with functional impairment and users of wheelchairs. 63.5% users declared that the door was easy to use. The door has achieved EI 90 classification and meets the requirements of legislation in terms of social security and safety.
Source: http://www.basqueresearch.com