Arguably one of the coolest features of the Star Trek universe is the automatic doors that open and close automatically. The doors also had a manual feature, as shown in this short clip from the series:
What is going on behind the scenes to make this door operate? It is using pneumatics, so it likely looks almost exactly like this, using two long pneumatic cylinders and an air compressor to drive them:
A little more detail on the pneumatics of a system like this:
The other way to do this kind of thing is to use a motor instead of pneumatics. If you search for “motorized pocket doors” on Google, these are actually fairly common. Here is one installation, using motion sensors to automatically open the door:
You can find details on this door here: high-tech-house.com
People also DIY their doors:
Of course you could also go a step beyond Star Trek, with a door like this:
An alternative approach: a trap door operated by pneumatics:
See also:
– A different way to build a house #43 – Adding secret passages and hidden rooms to a house
– A different way to build a house #50 – Build yourself a Ninja house, or add Ninja features to an existing home
Other House Ideas
- A different way to build a house #24 – The Future of Houses, The House of the Future
- A different way to build a house #25 – The Passive House
- A different way to build a house #26 – John Travolta’s Airplane House
- A different way to build a house #27 – The Sliding House
- A different way to build a house #28 – floating houses
- A different way to build a house #29 – The folding home
- A different way to build a house #30 – Billionaires’ Homes
- A different way to build a house #31 – Concrete House
- A different way to build a house #32 – Capsule Apartments
- A different way to build a house #33 – Prefab Duplex
- A different way to build a house #34 – bridge house
- A different way to build a house #35 – Tiny houses
- A different way to build a house #36 – Zero-energy and Triple-zero-houses
- A different way to build a house #37 – Build a house that is really thin
- A different way to build a house #38 – Foam and steel construction makes a quick, inexpensive, super-efficient house
- A different way to build a house #40 – The capsule
- A different way to build a house #41 – The ultra-secure house
- A different way to build a house #42: Print it
- A Different Way to Build a House #43: Add Secret Passages and Hidden Rooms to your house!
- A different way to build a house #44 – Display your finest car in the living room
- A different way to build a house #45 – Build yourself an Earthship for an ultra-sustainable green lifestyle
- A different way to build a house #46 – How to add an elevator to your home
- A different way to build a house #47 – underground and able to ride out “the apocalypse”
- A different way to build a house #48 – design your own house like an architect
- A different way to build a house #49 – A tiny apartment with moving walls becomes 24 different spaces
- A different way to build a house #50 – Build yourself a Ninja house, or add Ninja features to an existing home
- A different way to build a house #51 – An inexpensive home using recycled wood and natural materials
- A different way to build a house #52 – The flat pack house
- A different way to build a house #53 – inexpensive housing for the developing world
- A different way to build a house #54 – Log homes
- A different way to build a house #55 – Lustron homes – Amazing steel prefabs from 1950
- A different way to build a house #56 – Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion pre-fab house from the 1930s
- A different way to build a house #57 – Using an RV as a home
- A different way to build a house #58 – Virginia Tech’s LumenHaus
- A different way to build a house #59 – Making the most of small apartment spaces
- A different way to build a house #60 – Building custom houses from laser-cut plywood
- A different way to build a house #61 – Building a house for $3,500
- A Different Way To Build a House #62 – Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) construction
- A Different Way To Build a House #63 – An 1,000 square foot 2-bedroom apartment shrunk into 420 square feet
- A different way to build a house #64 – Fitting your whole life in a 90 square foot apartment
- How to build your own automatic Star Trek door for your home
- How to build an underground fallout shelter to ride out the apocalypse
- The $300 House competition
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