Because it isn't always the janitor who makes floors wet, the Water-Intimated Floor-Marks system would be a helpful feature in any public building. The concept is for a special type of flooring or flooring treatment that alerts pedestrians about spills without the use of signage.
A team of designers from the Zhejiang University have dreamed up a different way to notify passers-by about dangerous puddles. The tiles, the wood or the concrete would have a dye absorbed into it that's water-sensitive. This special ink would be applied to take the familiar symbols that you see on slip-risk signs. With the Water-Intimated Floor-Marks system, these images would appear within the spill itself, informing people of its presence and encouraging them to walk around it.
Water-Activated Warnings
The Water-Intimated Floor-Marks Concept Reduces Incidences of Slipping
Trend Themes
1. Water-intimated Floor-marks - The concept of water-sensitive flooring or flooring treatment that alerts pedestrians about spills without the use of signage presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in safety and wayfinding technology.
2. Dye-absorbing Ink - The use of ink that is activated by water to create familiar symbols within spills opens up possibilities for disruptive innovation in visual communication and hazard notification systems.
3. Water-activated Signage Alternatives - The development of alternative methods to traditional signages, such as water-activated floor marks, offers disruptive innovation opportunities to enhance safety protocols and improve user experiences in public buildings.
Industry Implications
1. Architecture and Construction - The water-intimated floor-marks system could disrupt the architecture and construction industry by incorporating innovative safety features in building designs and materials.
2. Facility Management - The adoption of water-activated warnings in facility management can revolutionize safety protocols and improve incident response in public buildings, creating a new standard for facility management practices.
3. Safety and Wayfinding Technology - The development of water-activated indicators and signage alternatives presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the field of safety and wayfinding technology, enabling more seamless and effective hazard communication.