Footstep Electricity Generation

Presented by:Sriparna Nandi. Branch:-Electrical Roll no.:-803142

Introduction
Man has needed and used energy at an increasing rate for his sustenance and wellbeing ever since he came on the earth a few million years ago. Due to this a lot of energy sources have been exhausted and wasted. So, non-conventional energy is very essential at this time to our nation. Walking is the most common activity in day to day life. When a person walks, he lose energy to the road surface in the form of impact, vibration, sound etc, due to the transfer of his weight to the road surface, through foot falls on the ground during every step. This energy can be tapped and converted in the usable form such as in electrical form.

Footstep electric converter device (FSEC)

This device, if embedded in the footpath, can convert foot impact energy into electrical form. The downward movement of the plate results in rotation of the shaft of an electrical alternator, fitted in the device, to produce electrical energy. The electricity generated from these devices can be used for street lights. The device was tested and it was demonstrated that the energy generated by this device can be stored in a 12 V lead acid battery. A 100 watt, 230 volt bulb was connected to the battery through an inverter. The device was operated by persons walking over to it. The bulb automatically lights up when the battery reaches its full voltage.

Fig. 1 FSEC developed by the reactor control division

Operation of FSEC
The working of the Foot Step Electric Converter (FSEC) is demonstrated in photographs in Fig. 2. A 6 W, 12V bulb connected to the output of the alternator glows, to indicate the electric output when foot load is applied. The unit is designed to generate full power pulse when actuated by a person weighing nearly 60 kg. An experimental plot of voltage vs. time was generated, by using an oscilloscope. Using voltage data and the load (a resistor), a typical plot of power vs. time was generated. The plot

Fig. 3: Power vs. Time Plot for Single Step

is shown in fig 3.

Fig. 2: Operation of Foot Step Electric Converter (a) After applying weight (Bulb lights up) (b) Before applying weight (No light)

Energy storing
The power generated by the foot step generator can be stored in an energy storing device.

The output of the generator was fed to a 12 V lead acid battery, through an ac-dc converter bridge.
Initially, the battery was completely discharged. Then, the FSEC was operated by applying foot load and energy was stored in the battery. A 100 W, 230V bulb was connected to the battery through an inverter. The arrangement is shown in Fig. 4. The duration of lighting, the bulb for number of footsteps and corresponding energy stored, are given in Table 1. The main objective of developing the FSEC was to demonstrate the technology of

harnessing energy from human walk. Multiple unit clusters may be more useful for producing useable power. A single cluster with 5 FSEC devices was developed for experimental purpose.

Fig. 4: Storing Device for Foot Step Electric Energy (a) Bulb on (after charging battery) (b) Bulb off (before charging battery)

Table 1: Energy storage by foot steps

No. of foot steps Duration of lighting a 100 watt 230V bulb(s) 6 Total energy (J) Energy/step (J)

250

600

2.4

500

12

1200

2.4

750

18

1800

2.4

1000

25

2500

2.5

Multiple FSEC unit clusters

A cluster of 5 FSEC devices mounted on a wheeled platform was

developed.
The electrical output of all five FSEC devices is stored in 2 batteries

provided in the platform.

An electronic digital energy meter is fitted on the platform. The energy

generated in each of the five FSEC units fitted in the mobile platform is integrated and displayed on the energy meter.
The energy meter shows a total integrated value of electrical energy in KJ

generated in all FSECs fitted in the platform.

Fig.5. A view of the internal components of a typical FSEC device used in the cluster .

The platform in Fig.6 is provided castor wheels, and can be placed at any public place where there is continuous movement of people. This unit is designed for persons weighing 50 Kg and above. The unit is fitted with two 12 V, 26 Amp lead acid batteries for storing the output energy from this unit. Also, an inverter is provided to convert 12 V DC from battery to 230 V AC supply for Fig. 6.: Multi Unit FSEC Platform general use.

Observations inferred from the above experiment

When a person walks over to the platform, the reading on the energy meter was

observed to be incremented by 3-5 J per step, depending on the weight of the person.
The output may be further increased by increasing the efficiency of the FSEC

device.
As millions of people are on the move in cities, significant amount of electricity can

be generated by installing these devices at places where the public walk through.

Footstep electricity generation using PaveGen

Paving slabs that convert energy from people's footsteps into electricity are set to help

power Europe's largest urban mall, at the 2012 London Olympics site.
The recycled rubber "PaveGen" paving slabs harvest kinetic energy from the impact of

people stepping on them and instantly deliver tiny bursts of electricity to nearby

appliances. The slabs can also store energy for up to three days in an on-board battery,
according to its creator.

Crowd farm
A "Crowd Farm" has been setup by MIT students

for producing electricity from the energy of pounding feet in crowded places. Working on the idea to harness human locomotion power, MIT (USA) architecture students James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk recently unveiled what they're calling the "Crowd Farm," a setup that would derive energy from pounding feet in crowded places. Population of India and mobility of its masses will turn into boon in generating electricity from its (populations) footsteps. Human locomotion in over crowded subway stations, railway stations, bus stands, airports, temples or rock concerts thus can be converted to electrical energy with the use of this promising technology.

Pavement architectural view of Crowd energy farm

A virtual crowd farm

Working of a crowd farm

In a crowd farm, a responsive sub-flooring system made up of blocks that depress slightly under the force of human steps would be installed beneath the walking lobby.
The slippage of the blocks against one another

as people walked would generate power through the principle of the dynamo. The Crowd Farm is not intended for home use as a single human step can only power two 60W light bulbs for one flickering second While the farm is over crowded with moving population, the dynamo-floor principle can be applied to capture energy at large levels.

Footwear embedded harvesters.

This works as follows: droplets of liquid are placed between electrodes coated in dielectric

film. Both droplets and electrodes are connected to an external electrical circuit. External movement causes the interface between the droplets and the electrodes to decrease which releases an electrical charge which flows back into the electrical circuit, generating an electrical current. A tube of a millimeter wide and four millimeters long would contain the electrodes and droplets. In total the device would take up 40cm2 which can be incorporated in the sole of the shoe. Each foot would generate up to 10W, which is enough to charge a phone or a laptop.

Power generating shoe

Foot step power generation system for rural energy application to run AC and DC loads.
To run AC and DC loads, firstly , the conversion of the force energy into electrical energy is carried out. The control mechanism carries the following equipments:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A piezo electric sensor, A.C ripples neutralizer, unidirectional current controller , 12V, 1.3Amp lead acid dc rechargeable battery and an inverter ,which is used to drive AC/DC loads. The battery is connected to the inverter. The inverter is used to convert the 12 volt D.C to the 230V A.C. This 230V A.C voltage is used to activate the loads. A conventional battery unit is used for supplying the circuitry.

Block diagram

Specifications
5V ,500mA power supply.
7805 three terminal voltage regulator => used for voltage regulation. Bridge type full wave rectifier => used to rectify the ac output of secondary of

230/12V step down transformer.

Sensor used is piezoelectric sensor.

Applications:The system is particularly useful where grid connections are not feasible or where there is a requirement for a low carbon solution. Key applications include : powering street lighting, Displays Speakers and alarms. Charging batteries Signage and advertisements.

busy crossings can now be self

sufficient, increasing the safety of its users with a retro fitted Pavegen slab that requires no grid connection. The rubber is produced from 100% recycled car tyres.

Conclusion
Proposal for the utilization of waste energy of foot power with human locomotion is
very much relevant and important for highly populated countries like India and China. The whole human/ bio-energy being wasted if can be made possible for utilization , it will be great invention and crowd energy farms will be very useful energy sources in crowded countries. Some 28,527 steps, for example, could power an entire moving train for a second. The Crowd Farm could also be used to harness the head-bashing energy at a rock concert. Non conventional energy system is very essential at this time to our nation.

Bibliography
www.ieee.org
www.wikipedia.com http://www.livescience.com/4572-crowd-farm-converts-footsteps-

electricity.html
www.barc.gov.in web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/crowdfarm

Thank you