Stairs that will give you a leg up

IT sounds like a plot from Wallace and Gromit but scientists have built a staircase that will literally put a spring in your step.

The invention makes it easier to climb the stairs by using springs that absorb energy when a person walks down them – which is then released to help them on their way back up.

A pressure sensor on each step uses the stored energy to push feet up or down.

Scientists behind the technology claim it can reduce the amount of effort needed to climb stairs by around a third and can also relieve the strain on joints when descending. The ‘energy recycling stairs’ could assist the elderly or other people with mobility problems and spare the households cost of expensive stair lifts or building work.

Lead researcher Dr Karen Liu, associate professor of interactive computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, said: ‘The device can be easily installed on top of existing stairs, so people who need temporary assistance, such as those recovering from knee surgery or pregnant women, could also benefit from it.’

Dr Liu said she got the idea by looking for ways to help her 72-year-old mother, who can still walk but struggles with stairs.

Tests in the laboratory, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, showed the special steps could reduce the strain on a person’s knee by 37 per cent.

And while the prototype cost around $1,000 (£780), Dr Liu believes this could be reduced to less than $100 (£78) a step.