Kill switch
Kill switch | |
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Classification | Mechanical component |
Industry | Automotive, boating, energy, engineering, entertainment |
Powered | Varies, some mechanical |
A kill switch, also known more formally as an emergency brake, emergency stop (E-stop), emergency off (EMO), or emergency power off (EPO), is a safety mechanism used to shut off machinery in an emergency, when it cannot be shut down in the usual manner. Unlike a normal shut-down switch or shut-down procedure, which shuts down all systems in order and turns off the machine without damage, a kill switch is designed and configured to abort the operation as quickly as possible (even if it damages the equipment) and to be operated simply and quickly (so that even a panicked operator with impaired executive functions or a bystander can activate it). Kill switches are usually designed to be noticeable, even to an untrained operator or a bystander.
Some kill switches feature a removable, protective barrier against accidental activation (e.g. a plastic cover that must be lifted or glass that must be broken), known as a mollyguard. Kill switches are features of mechanisms whose normal operation or foreseeable misuse might cause injury or death; industrial designers include kill switches because damage to or the destruction of the machinery is less important than preventing workplace injuries and deaths.
A similar system, usually called a
Vehicles
On railways,[1] an emergency stop is a full application of the brakes in order to bring a train to a stop as quickly as possible.[2] This occurs either by a manual emergency stop activation, such as a button being pushed on the train to start the emergency stop, or on some trains automatically, when the train has passed a red signal or the driver has failed to respond to warnings to check that they are still alert, which is known as a dead man's switch. A similar mechanism is the watchdog timer.
In large
A related concept is the
Monster Truck Racing Association requires all of their
Pioneer-era planes and World War I aircraft
Early aviators using
Anti-theft
Kill switches are also used on land vehicles as an anti-theft system and as an emergency power off. Such devices are often placed in bait cars and configured so that observing police can trigger the switch remotely.[3] This same idea can make the stolen object, such as a smartphone, useless to both the thief and whoever buys it, yet allow the true owner to reactivate it when/if it is recovered.[4]
Smartphones
In
Software
- See also Brick (electronics) – an electronic device that can no longer function due to software malfunction
By analogy to physical kill switches, "kill switch" can be used to refer to a mechanism incorporated in software that can be activated by its manufacturer or licensor, for example if the product is withdrawn, or a maintenance fee has not been paid, or a device has been lost or stolen.[7][8] It can also refer to kill switches for the stopping of malware such as in the WannaCry ransomware attack.[9][10]
There is a debate about implementing kill switches in robots[11] and advanced artificial intelligence systems.[12]
In AI
Industrial machinery
On large industrial machines, an emergency stop button is typically located on the panel, and possibly in several other areas of the machine. Often, an emergency stop is made wireless using a remote control. This provides a rapid means to disconnect the energy source of the device to protect workers.[14] For fail-safe operation, the emergency stop button is a normally closed switch, which ensures that a broken wire will not prevent it from being activated, but may accidentally activate the emergency stop.
In the European Union, most types of machinery are required to be equipped with an emergency stop according to the Directive 2006/42/EC. Exceptions apply for machinery in which an emergency stop would not lessen the risk as well as for portable hand-held/hand-guided machinery.
Nuclear power plants
A kill switch in a nuclear reactor plant is called SCRAM. It is usually characterized as an acronym for "safety control rod axe man", though this is probably a backronym.
Machine tools
Emergency stop functions are frequently used on machine tools, including equipment like wood and metal sawing machines, grinding machines, drilling machines, milling machines and machining centres and lathes. The emergency stop safety function, and general requirements for emergency stop devices are set out in ISO 13850. [15] Machine specific (type-C) standards often include specific requirements for the emergency stop functions, but in the absence of a relevant type-C standard, the risk assessment should be used to determine whether or not an emergency stop function would be useful in avoiding or limiting harm. The ISO machinery safety standard types are defined in ISO 12100,[16] and this nomenclature is used by other standards development organizations, like ANSI in the USA, and CSA in Canada.[17][18]
Complementary protective measure
A machinery's emergency stop control is considered a complementary protective measure[16] because it is intended to complement the primary safeguarding measures like fixed guards, movable interlocked guards or safeguarding devices. The primary safeguarding measures prevent injury automatically, either by enforcing distance between a hazard and a person, or by eliminating the hazard by stopping hazardous motion or switching off a source of hazardous energy.
By contrast, emergency stop requires a deliberate action on the part of a person who must first recognize that some hazardous condition is about to arise or is arising, and who then must activate the emergency stop function by pressing the emergency stop button or activating another emergency stop device such as a pull-cord switch.
Fuel stations and road vehicles
A kill switch is also used for
Elevators and escalators
Elevators[19][20]often have a red two-way button on the control panel which is either marked "Emergency Stop" or "Run/Stop". Normally, the button is in the "up" or unpushed position, allowing the elevator to "run" in normal service. When the button is pushed, the elevator comes to an immediate stop. When the button is pulled back out, it resumes normal service, thus the reason for the use of the phrase "Run/Stop". Escalators will typically have a key-operated control that will turn the escalator off, or change its direction to up or down. Next to the key switch will be a red "Emergency Stop" button, which is used in the event of equipment failure, or where there is a potential for injury, such as when someone's shoe gets stuck in the "comb" at the top or bottom of the escalator and there is a risk of serious injury. The key switch is used to return the escalator to service after it has been stopped.[21][22]
Gym
Treadmills[23] often use a safety key with one end magnetically attached to the machine and the other end clipped to the user's waist. If the safety key is pulled out, such as in the event of a fall, the treadmill stops immediately. In other cases, some other treadmills have a more traditional kill switch, often mounted towards the rear of one of the hand railings.[24][25]
Amusement rides
The emergency stop on an
Military and other equipment
It is thought that some electronic chips used in equipment, particularly military, have a secret "kill" function that disables the equipment. It has been reported that French and Israeli
Spaceflight
See also
- Internet kill switch – Single shut off mechanism for all Internet traffic
- Blue light station – Emergency telephone and shut-off switch
- Battleshort – Emergency override of safety features to complete a mission, even if damage or injury will occur; the opposite of a kill switch
- Emergency brake (train) – device to stop a train as quickly as possible
References
- BizJournals.com (Pittsburgh).
- The Los Angeles Times. February 5, 2015.
- ^ "A Kill Switch Can Steal a Car Thief's Previous Time". The New York Times. April 24, 1994.
- ^ "Smartphones Embracing 'Kill Switches' as Theft Defense". The New York Times. June 9, 2014.
- ^ "The Smartphone Kill Switch Explained". The Washington Post.
- ^ T., Raffaele (September 2, 2019). "Librem 5 vs. PinePhone: comparison of two Linux smartphones". TuxPhones.
- ^ Davies, Chris (September 19, 2009). "Microsoft remote software "kill switch" confirmed". SlashGear. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ Williams, Martyn (June 24, 2014). "10 things to know about the smartphone kill switch". PCWorld. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ Chan, Sewell; Scott, Mark (May 14, 2017). "Cyberattack's Impact Could Worsen in 'Second Wave' of Ransomware". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ^ "Warning: Blockbuster 'WannaCry' malware could just be getting started". NBC News. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ^ Kottasova, Ivana (January 12, 2017). "Europe calls for mandatory 'kill switches' on robots". CNNMoney. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ^ Larson, Selena (January 26, 2017). "Killing the immortal: Why scientists are debating the life span of robots". CNNMoney. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ^ "Google developing kill switch for AI". BBC News. June 8, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ Repas, Robert (June 22, 2010). "Designing with E-stop Switches". machinedesign.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013.
- ^ "ISO 13850:2015 Safety of machinery — Emergency stop function — Principles for design". iso.org. International Organization for Standardization. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ a b "ISO 12100:2010 Safety of machinery — General principles for design — Risk assessment and risk reduction". iso.org. International Organization for Standardization. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "ANSI B11.0-2020 Safety Of Machinery". ansi.org. American National Standards Institute. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "Z432-16 (R2021) Safeguarding of machinery". csagroup.org. Canadian Standards Organization. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Benjamin Mueller (October 3, 2015). "Deadly Elevator Fall Spurs Look at Brakes and Load". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- ^ C. J. Chivers (January 26, 2000). "Elevator Cable Failed at Empire State Building, City Finds". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- ^ Michael Wilson (April 6, 2005). "3 Hungry Days for Deliveryman Stuck in Elevator". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
intercom .. emergency alarm button .. emergency stop switch
- ^ Michael Decourcy Hinds (April 29, 1989). "Escalator Dangers Called Preventable". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
emergency shut-off switches on escalators.
- ^ Parker-Pope, Tara (May 27, 2009). "The Dangers of Treadmills". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2009. ("the cord yanks the key out of the console and the treadmill stops")
- ^ ""treadmill" ((emergency stop) OR (kill switch))".
- ^ "Emergency Stop Switch Treadmill T2100 with Bracket". GE Healthcare.
The emergency stop switch is a safety device used in emergency situations to stop the treadmill
- WWAYTV3(CBS). July 13, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- ^ Adee, Sally (May 1, 2008). "The Hunt for the Kill Switch". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ Naughton, John (June 4, 2022). "Why your ability to repair a tractor could also be a matter of life and death". The Guardian.
- ^ Fylyppov, Olexsandr; Lister, Tim (May 2, 2022). "Russians plunder $5M farm vehicles from Ukraine -- to find they've been remotely disabled". CNN.