The energy generated by these shoes can be used to charge your smartphone
Our shoes could become our next source of energy, thanks to a new energy generation and storage technology developed by mechanical engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The technique could reduce reliance on batteries in mobile devices and charge your smartphone as you walk.
Tom Krupenkin, professor of mechanical engineering and J Ashley Taylor senior scientist, described groundbreaking technology that could harness the power of human movement to charge mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops. This could allow an energy harvester embedded in shoes to capture the energy generated by a person walking and store it for future use.
The power-generating shoes could be particularly useful for the military, as soldiers carry heavy batteries to power their radios, GPS units, and night vision goggles. It could also provide a source of energy for people in remote areas and developing countries that lack adequate electricity grids.
“Human feet generate a lot of energy. Theoretical estimates suggest that up to 10 watts per shoe can be generated, and that energy is simply lost as heat. A total of 20 watts from walking is no small feat, especially compared to the power requirements of the majority of modern mobile devices,” Krupenkin explained.
A typical smartphone requires less than two watts of power.
The team has been working to develop new methods of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy that could work to generate electricity from a walking human. The process is now known as reverse electrowetting. This technique uses a conductive liquid that works with a surface coated with a nanofilm that is capable of generating electricity.
