Here’s something we never thought we’d see: a water-powered garage door opener.????
The Hydradoor, as inventor Matthew Okrasa has christened it, is currently a working prototype with an all-or-nothing Kickstarter campaign running until March 19, 2017. He’s looking for an oddly uneven $86,339 from backers, but to actually get the very first unit, you’ll have to pledge $13k—yikes!
The system works by pumping water from a reservoir into a telescopic cylinder. That cylinder is connected to a series of cables and pulleys that then open the door. When the valve is reversed, gravity takes over and the door closes as water leaves the telescopic cylinder and returns to the reservoir.
There’s some math behind the number of pulleys used and the height the door needs to open, but we’ll let Matt explain that in his prototype video below.
Hydradoor may just be the future of garage door openers, but with the advent of smart/connected garage door openers, it’ll need to get smarter. We know the project is in its infancy and we’re excited to see where it goes.
