Inventor prepares big escape

SHANGHAI - For the past six months, 22-year-old Liu Feng has been repeating the same action every day and night: jumping off a seven-story building.

The graduate from Nanjing College of Information Technology is not trying to kill himself. Instead, he is testing one of his new inventions that may save lives.

The invention is a high-rise escape device that may soon be put into production. Though not the first gadget to allow people to escape from burning skyscrapers Batman-style, it will be the most affordable - it is expected to be priced at about 200 yuan ($31).