Dyson Airblade launches down under

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 30 November 2007 10:48

Opinion and Analysis

A merger of high technology and design has produced a hand dryer that dries hands hygienically in 10 seconds without heat, using significantly less power and removing the need for expensive paper towels.
James Dyson, the man behind the space-age looking Dyson vacuum cleaner and a number of other innovations, has launched his ultramodern 21st century hand dryer, the Dyson Airblade at a press event in Sydney, Australia.

Dyson’s vacuum cleaner has morphed into a number of newer models over the years, all featuring evolutions of the original design, with the latest launched earlier this year being a successful new handheld model with ‘twice the suction of other handhelds’, meaning they actually worked, unlike the ‘dustbusters’ of old which usually didn’t do a good job at all, especially once it started getting full, as anyone that’s used one would almost certainly attest.

James Dyson gave a short talk on the development, benefits and features of the Airblade, and answered some questions.

Dyson said that: “Instead of painfully slow evaporation, the Dyson Airblade wipes hands dry with high velocity blades of air. It’s very quick and it’s very clean”.  He also explained that conventional hand dryers either don’t work or simply take too long, with most people giving up waiting and wiping damp hands on their clothes instead as they walked out.

Boasting clever design, energy efficiency, speed and hygiene, the Airblade is clearly another unquestionably “21st century technology” that is a radical departure from the old way of doing things.

Dyson explained that his Dyson Digital Motor (DDM), the motor inside the Airblade, produces an air stream flowing at 640km per hour. He continued that this unheated air is channeled through a 0.3 millimetre gap, no thicker than an eyelash, and acts like an invisible windscreen wiper to wipe moisture from hands; leaving them completely dry.

I tried the Airblade several times before the actual presentation was underway, and when you put your hands in the unit, the sensors detect that and automatically start the air stream. If you look at your hands as they are drying, you can actually see the air stream gently pushing back your skin. It totally painless and actually feels quite smooth.

You then move your hands up and down through the unit and the air stream two or three times, and voila – your hands are dry! It works as advertised.

The rapid air stream pushes the water down your hands and fingers and then off, drying your hands at least twice as fast as conventional hand dryers, with a figure of 40 seconds given for old fashioned hand dryers at the press event if you really do the job properly and don’t walk off half way through. 

The Airblade is vertically longer than traditional boxy hand dryers, but is much slimmer in width. It has a very space-age look about it, and is moulded from an aluminium alloy, which is coated with a bactericide that also includes silver, ensuring its germ killing properties, as any germs that come into contact with the unit itself are neutralised.

So, what about HEPA air filtration, energy efficiency and the cost? Please read onto the conclusion on page 2 to find out!