Inventor creates foot-operated door pedal to help contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, engineer and inventor Michael Aiken developed the “Anti-covid-19 Door Opener” that allows people to open doors by using their feet. According to the project’s page on the Instructables website, the innovator states that “The main goal of this project was to raise public awareness of the potential for foot-operated controls to provide another type of sanitary solution for preventing surface-to-surface spread of SARS-COV-2.” The idea is that, even though the virus can still be spread through the feet, it is much less likely to come into contact with people’s airways, as most people rarely come into contact with the soles of their shoes.

The design consists of a door pedal placed on the bottom of the door, an adapter that connects to the door handle and a rope system that connects the other two components. By pressing the pedal, the rope system causes the adapter to move the door handle and open the door. The system can be attached to any door, temporarily with mounting tape or permanently with anchors and screws. There are also several types of handle adapters, to fit different kinds of handles, including round door knobs.

This system can also be adapted to use for other purposes, such as to pull the flusher on toilets and urinals, with the pedal attached to the wall.

The entire list of material as well as the designs and instruction for assembly are available at the project’s Instructables page. The project is open-source and the inventor is asking for anyone interested to give their feedback and collaborate in the improvement of the design.

Instructables page: https://www.instructables.com/id/Door-Pedal-an-Anti-COVID-19-Door-Opener/
Design Files: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/door-pedal-a-3d-printed-covid-19-hands...