When the outdoor swimming pool at Unterhaching is closed (from Mid-September through Mid-May, which is a long time) I take my regular swim at the Phönix. The Phönix is the Ottobrunn public swimming pool situated directly where I pass on my daily bike ride between Ottobrunn and Unterhaching. Mostly, I manage to swim my 40 rounds four times a week.
With the modernization work, new technology has made its appearance at the Phönix. As I check in, I now get a small green chip. On the picture, you can see it in the yellow slot of the wristband.
The new chips are small, round plastic discs with an inner life that can be machine-read. It contains several data. For example it knows when your pool time is over. And it knows whether you paid for multi or single use. For instance, you will retrieve a “ten-strip-card” on exiting ten times, after the eleventh time, the machine swallows it.
In former times, the admittance slips were small pieces of paper. They also had a magnetic strip. You could read on the slip when your time was up. Now you can no longer see that information on the chip. Neither can you see how many more times you will be allowed to enter on the chip.
There is one good thing to be said about the chips: they are reusable and save paper. And (so far) the green discs are more reliable than the paper slips were. Formerly, you had to insert the card into a slid in order to close the clothes locker. The system was sensitive and occasionally caused problems. Besides, you only could use the paper slips one time each.
Now you insert the green disc into the slid, lock the locker and then retrieve your wristband.
A short time ago, I had the opportunity to witness how the new locker mechanisms were installed. The green chips in the changing compartments are read electronically! In every one of the black “locks”, there is a real “flat construction”. It looks terribly complex. And, of course, it is based on electric energy. Not electro-mechanical, for instance charged when the chip is inserted. Instead – surprise, surprise – rechargeable batteries are used!
The rechargeable batteries provide energy for two years, and then they must be re-loaded. That is what the craftsman who installed them told me. Incidentally, you can also produce an error mode, so the card emits a noise. I assume that would increase the consumption of energy.
There are quite a few of these lockers in the public swimming pool. To me, this looks like a rather complex solution. Except that I do not know what these “intelligent” lockers are good for. Maybe the purpose is that the use of faked chips for stealing keys is prevented?
I already wonder how long the system will work smoothly. Maybe some of the rechargeable batteries will be empty before their time? And maybe when the rechargeable batteries must be replaced in two years’ time, the entire system will be replaced? Especially in electronics, the technical advance is still very fast.
That is not my definition of “lean” and “cheap” design. Also, it looks all but cheap. Being the customer, I am the one who pays for it. And going for a swim in Ottobrunn is quite expensive. The early weekday morning special price is 4 Euros (8 DM) for 90 minutes! Only the late night special price is a little less, but the prices during the day and on weekends and holidays easily make up for that.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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