Energy Harvesting from Close Type Footwear: A Smart Design Approach

Abstract

The mechanical energy harvesting from human body, particularly from the feet, is an alternative process for acquiring potential electricity. Human body weight-pressure produces mechanical energy during walking and running. In this study, a special type of footwear was designed by inserting piezoelectric transducer (PZT) under the heel area to convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy. The experiment has been conducted with a circuit comprising of bridge rectifier, capacitor, and a DC-DC converter with an external output connection. It has been found that the AC voltage maximum is 43 V. When the AC voltage was converted to continuous DC, it was found the voltage decreased drastically. The highest generated energy has been found to be 317.52 mJ for two hours (8000 steps per day). Our special type of shoe and circuit design have demonstrated the feasibility of harvesting the mechanical energy into the electrical energy from piezoelectric materials.

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“…The emitter circuit must be placed inside the shoe, for this reason a cavity was made in the sole, specifically in the upper part where the heel rests, in such a way that the circuit components are inserted easily and safely without short circuits, as shown in Figure 4. By placing the emitter circuit in this cavity, the mechanical damage that can be caused to the circuit by the weight of the person is avoided [12]. In addition, damage or discomfort to the user's foot is avoided when carrying out their activities, because the circuit is not in direct contact with the skin and the components of the circuit are light, having a total weight of 52.…”

“…Harvesting mechanical energy from the human body, particularly from the feet, is an alternative process for acquiring potential electricity. The pressure of the weight of the human body produces mechanical energy when walking and running [12].…”