Wednesday, January 22, 2025

My Guiding Lights

Steven B. Zwickel, 
January 22, 2025

When I was teaching Technical Writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, I used to get a magazine called NASA Tech Briefs <https://www.techbriefs.com/>. The best part for me was a section where readers asked for help solving engineering problems because it provided me with many good ideas for student projects. In 2003 the magazine promoted a "Create the Future" design contest and put out a call for new ideas.

Although I was the first to use computer graphics to create presentation visuals, I am not an engineer and have no technical training. But I entered this contest and, to my surprise, I won a Merit Prize. My idea came when I was a passenger on a commercial airline flight. Before takeoff the cabin attendants demonstrate how to use seatbelts, oxygen masks, and where to find the exits. On one particular flight, they pointed down to the aisle and told passengers that, should the cabin fill with smoke, we could find our way to the exits by following lights along the floor. My idea was to do the same thing in any building where people might need help getting out in the event of a fire.

I did look into getting a patent, but was unsuccessful. I also discussed having my idea turned into a manufactured product, but that also didn't pan out. I was told that if the building code didn't require these light strips, no contractor would install them in a building. 

I still think this is a good idea and I hope someone will turn it into reality. In 2021, there were 3,800 deaths from smoke inhalation in the United States <https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/research/nfpa-research/fire-statistical-reports/fire-loss-in-the-united-states>.

Here is my 2003 contest entry:

 GUIDING LIGHT

Smoke is one of the deadliest dangers people face when a building catches fire.

Burning furniture, carpeting, and construction materials can release clouds of dense, toxic smoke that can disorient and, eventually, kill anyone unlucky enough to be caught inside. Recognizing that this same danger exists on airplanes, the airlines found a way to guide passengers out of a burning plane quickly and efficiently. I propose taking a page from the airlines' book and adapting a similar method to make buildings safer.

When passengers board a commercial plane, the cabin crew directs their attention to a row of lights on the floor along the aisle. These lights come on in an emergency and serve to guide passengers to the exits. Smoke is warmer than the surrounding air, so it will rise. The theory behind having safety lights near the floor is that they will remain visible, even if the cabin starts to fill up with smoke.

My plan is to use the same strip of lights to guide people out of burning buildings. Each light is made up of LEDs in the shape of an arrow, pointing towards the nearest exit. Five arrows are mounted on an eight-foot long strip. The light strips would be attached to the baseboards in hallways (Fig. 1) and stairwells (Fig. 2).

Power for the GUIDING LIGHT strips is provided by a combination of wall outlets and batteries. Batteries would be used when a wall outlet is not available. Where a wall outlet is available, batteries act as backup to power from a wall outlet, so that the system will work even if power goes out. A light on the receiver/ activator indicates when batteries are fully charged and/or when the power source is on. (Fig. 3)

The GUIDING LIGHT system includes special smoke detectors equipped with radio transmitters. Each strip of lights has a radio receiver and lights are activated by a radio signal sent from the nearest smoke detector. The lights would be activated whenever smoke detectors go off and they would remain on until manually re-set or until destroyed by fire.

While most building codes require illuminated exit lights to guide people in the event of an emergency, these are almost always mounted on the ceiling or up over doorways. As smoke fills hallways and stairwells from the top down, these exit signs are obscured from view. The GUIDING LIGHT system is attached to the walls just a few inches above the floor-one of the last areas to fill with smoke. Super-bright LED displays make it far more visible than conventional incandescent bulbs. Anyone who crouches or crawls to avoid the smoke will be able to see the GUIDING LIGHT strips.

This system is appropriate for any setting in which people need to be evacuated from a building quickly. In smoke and haze, it offers a way for people to orient themselves. It would be useful in public buildings that have a lot of visitors who are unfamiliar with the premises and who are more likely to get lost. The GUIDING LIGHT is particularly suited to places where the age and physical ability of people might keep them from finding the exits on their own-such as in schools, dormitories, senior citizen housing, and nursing facilities.









Monday, January 6, 2025

Fair Games

 Fair Games

Steven B. Zwickel

January, 2025


There has been a lot in the news this past year about whether it is fair to let transgender athletes compete against people who remain the same sex they were at birth, particularly in certain sports where physical strength plays a significant role. For example, males typically have greater muscle mass and bone density than females, which could give transgender women a physical advantage even after hormone therapy.

It seems wrong to deny anyone a chance to compete just because they have changed from one sex to another. But the real problem is how to be inclusive without giving anyone an unfair advantage. 

Could we follow the lead of boxing and wrestling, where athletes are assigned to different weight classes and compete against people in the same class? A weigh-in is held before a competition to ensure that each athlete's body weight is within the limits of his or her weight class. Granted, this attempt to be fair-er  is far from perfect and some coaches, and some athletes, have figured out ways to “game” the system. 

One way to solve this problem would be to use a mathematical approach. What if we used a formula for classifying athletes by more than just their weight? What if we were to multiply weight times height times age to get a numerical competition classification number {CN} for young athletes? A range of CNs could be used to create CN classes of athletes who are relatively similar.

To make the system even fairer, we could use a fourth multiplier that could reflect something like body fat percentage1 or power-to-weight ratio2

[Body Mass Index (BMI)3, something many people are familiar with, would be a good choice for the fourth multiplier, except that it is only useful for adults and doesn’t apply to children or adolescents who are still growing.]

The only real drawback to the CN system would be that it would probably require using the metric system, which is still unfamiliar to many Americans.

 Thus, W (in kilograms) X H (in centimeters) X Age (in months) X Body Fat Percentage in %) = CN. 

Athletes with similar CNs would be in one CN class, regardless of gender. Girls could play against boys in the same CN class, etc.

Problem solved.

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1 Body fat percentage is the total mass of fat divided by total body mass, multiplied by 100. 

2 To calculate a person's power-to-weight ratio, you divide their maximum power output (measured in watts) by their body weight (in kilograms), resulting in a value expressed as "watts per kilogram" (W/kg). 

BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters


I spend a lot of time staring at my phone…

Like a lot of people today, I spend hours staring at my phone. I just don't get much out of it.