<span>A ropeless lift that can </span><span>travel horizontally and vertically – though </span><span>perhaps not as dramatically as </span><span>the Great Glass Elevator described in </span><span><em>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</em></span><span> – will be presented at Expo 2020</span><span>.</span> <span>Previously thought </span><span>to be the stuff of Hollywood films, the </span><span>Multi</span><span> lift will be a key attraction at the German Pavilion in</span><span> Dubai.</span> <span>Instead of using </span><span>ropes, the Multi cabins</span><span> are powered by magnetic technology.</span> <span>Thyssenkrupp Elevator, the company behind the project, said it was </span><span>more akin to a metro station inside a building than a traditional lift system.</span> <span>"Dubai is both a significant global business hub and a tourist destination. It's a city that provides a platform for new inventions, attracting people and businesses from </span><span>across the world," </span><span>Peter Walker, chief executive of </span><span>thyssenkrupp Elevator, said.</span> <span>”Multi will support this aim, demonstrating to those at Expo 2020 precisely how technology can support the growth of urban mobility.”</span> <span>The Multi lift was </span><span>revealed to the public in 2017 at the thyssenkrupp test </span><span>tower in Rottweil, Germany.</span> <span>Thyssenkrupp said </span><span>that removing ropes </span><span>traditionally used to </span><span>raise and lower the cabin mean</span><span>t </span><span>more than one </span><span>could be placed in a shaft at a time, </span><span>reducing the </span><span>time </span><span>people are made to wait</span><span> for a lift.</span> <span>The company said placing </span><span>several cabins in a shaft at one time would also significantly reduce the amount of energy each building used once </span><span>the Multi lifts</span><span> were installed.</span> <span>The magnetic</span><span> technology, known as maglev, is similar to that used </span><span>in high-speed trains in Japan and Germany</span><span>.</span> <span>It gives the impression of the lifts are floating</span><span> because </span><span>it does not</span><span> involve moving parts</span><span>, </span><span>creating a </span><span>smoother ride than traditional lifts.</span> <span>The magnetised Multi system also means there will be no maintenance issues caused by rope sway.</span> <span>Two sets of magnets are used, one </span><span>to </span><span>repel the cabin </span><span>from the shaft and the other to move it along</span><span>.</span> <span>Thyssenkrupp </span><span>said it wanted the Multi cabin to transform</span><span> the way </span><span>people travel within buildings.</span> <span>The company also </span><span>said that, because the cabins required fewer and smaller shafts than conventional lifts, it would reduce a building's elevator footprint by up to 50 per cent.</span> <span>This would be a major boost </span><span>because in many cases</span><span> a lift can take up to 40 per cent of a building's floor space.</span> <span>By </span><span>using linear motors for each individual cabin, no chain</span><span> is needed to control the lift</span><span>. The cabins can even move on inclines if needed.</span> <span>The technology </span><span>can also be used to shuttle someone from one building to another, </span><span>thyssenkrupp said.</span> <span>Each cabin moves with a top speed of </span><span>about six metres per second and requires significantly less peak power</span><span>, as much as a 70 per cent </span><span>less than conventional lift systems.</span> <span>A </span><span>thyssenkrupp spokesman said the technology also ha</span><span>d applications beyond the Multi lift</span><span>.</span> <span>“Multi will demonstrate how various transportation solutions, from underground logistics to air taxis, can be interconnected with the ropeless elevator,” he said.</span> <span>"Skybridges powered by horizontally</span><span> moving Multi will support lifting passenger transportation to a whole new level."</span> <span>He said there was a</span><span> need for such transportation in skyscrapers, </span><span>because there were 63 cities </span><span>with more than three million inhabitants</span><span>. That </span><span>was only going to increase, he said.</span> <span>“Since 2000, the number of high-rise buildings more than 200 metres in height has tripled,” he said.</span> The magnetised system also means there will be no maintenance issues caused by rope sway.