Look, I'm not even going to mess around with a creative intro on this one. The world's largest zip manufacturer, YKK, has made a remote-controlled, motorised, self-propelled zip, and it's glorious.
See how it connects a pair of 16-foot membrane sheets together in seconds (via The Verge). Marvel at it zipping up two halves of an industrial-sized tent. Wonder, at least momentarily, as to whether it'll ever be miniaturised down to something clothes-sized.
YKK is the world's largest manufacturer of zips and zippers, and, in collaboration with membrane structure manufacturer Taiyo Kogya Co., Ltd, has been showing off the self-propelled mega-zipper at Taiko Kogyo's Hirakata factory.
"In the industrial field, opening and closing zippers requires consideration of safety, and the work must be done by skilled workers, which takes time. We believe that the 'self-propelled zipper' can be a product that solves these problems for our customers," says YKK.
"We will continue to utilize the knowledge gained from the demonstration test and continue development toward practical use."
Fair enough. Practical use being, eventually, my next pair of trousers? Perhaps. I'd love to imagine a world where I leap out of bed in the morning and put on my Back to the Future pants, safe in the knowledge they will zip me up at the touch of a button.
Mind you, I hope some thorough testing has been done before then, for personal reasons. Anyway, it's a very big zip, zipping up very big things all by itself, and it's made my day. To the prototyping shed, Batman. I have some plans I need to look over.
