We are all much more aware of what we touch in our everyday lives since COVID-19. We were all told to avoid touching our faces with unwashed hands, and many of us will think twice before grabbing a handrail in a public place or press buttons in an elevator.

Many companies, hoping to reopen offices and workplaces soon, will be taking all this into account as they make changes and implement touchless access control measures to buildings, such as the use of RFID cards like those used in contactless payments, or key fobs that only permit access to certain floors.

However, these measures cannot be implemented in busy public areas, such as shopping centres, railways stations, and airports. Now companies are seeking the next generation of controls to accommodate the need for touchless technology.

A Singaporean design studio, Stuck Design has been working on a concept where lift passengers won’t have to touch a button to ‘press’ it. The studio’s Kinetic Touchless technology mimics the movement of the finger and recreates the tactile sensation of pushing a button. 

It works by detecting motion and doesn’t need direct contact, and the designers say that the technology can recognise other gestures too, swiping, pushing or pulling, and the technology means the buttons will sink inwards or move outwards, following the gesture.

While there is touchless technology that will acknowledge your selection with a light or a sound, this concept may appear overkill, however, the studio said: “By going beyond the expected feedback of light and sound, Kinetic Touchless provides a surprisingly delightful and yet newly familiar way to interact with contactless technology.”

The concept is yet still in the prototype phase, but touchless technology will be used more and more post-pandemic, so get ready for Star Trek-style technology coming to lifts soon!

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