January 15, 2015
There is a recent research helping you recharge your battery when you walk - with a specific device embedded in your sport shoes.
Abstract
Modern compact and low power sensors and systems are leading towards increasingly integrated wearable systems. One key bottleneck of this technology is the power supply. The use of energy harvesting techniques offers a way of supplying sensor systems without the need for batteries and maintenance. In this work we present the development and characterization of two inductive energy harvesters which exploit different characteristics of the human gait. A multi-coil topology harvester is presented which uses the swing motion of the foot. The second device is a shock-type harvester which is excited into resonance upon heel strike.
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/24/2/025029
related article on IOP:
Energy harvesting from human motion: exploiting swing and shock excitations
related article on BBC:
Smart shoe devices generate power from walking
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