ENGINEERING firm Dyson is launching a new £1000 tap hand dryer, which it claims will mean no water spilling on the floor and end the need for towels.

A team led by Glasgow School of Art product design graduate Paul Reid was heavily involved in the production of the Airblade Tap.

The device is made from anti-corrosion steel used in the construction of boats and has been tested at pressures eight times greater than normal taps.

The Wiltshire company said infrared sensors locate the position of hands before releasing water.

When drying is requested Dyson's latest digital motor – which cost almost £27 million and took seven years to develop – starts and pushes out air travelling at 430 mph through the tap's branches.

Dyson said the process can dry hands in 12 seconds and likened it to water being taken off a car windscreen by a wiper blade.

James Dyson, the company's founder, said: "Using complex computer modelling, Dyson engineers have developed a high performance digital motor.

"The Dyson digital motor self-adjusts 6000 times a second to maintain optimum efficiency to create a high velocity sheet of air that dries hands quickly and hygienically."

Dyson also launched a version of its Airblade hand dryer, which is 60% smaller than its predecessor and a more eco-friendly model which is lighter and produces less carbon emissions while it is manufactured.

There are 110 patents or patents pending on technology used in the Airblade range.