Ten technologies to harvest energy from human motion

By By: Adriana Hamacher.

1. Ear-powered batteries. Researchers from MIT, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology harvested the energy of a guinea pig’s inner ear to power a small sensing device. It’s hoped the devices could eventually monitor activity in the ears of people with hearing or balance impairments.

2. Knee-joint piezoelectric energy harvester. UK researchers from Cranfield University, the University of Liverpool and the University of Salford are working on a piezoelectric energy harvester to be worn on the knee-joint. Taking advantage of the “plucking technique” to achieve frequency up-conversion, a user could power body-monitoring devices such as a heart rate monitor, pedometer or accelerometer simply by walking.

3. Wearable human motion energy harvester. Researchers from Riga Technical University, in Latvia, have developed a mechanical energy harvester for generating electricity whilst walking. The generator elements move in relation to one another and induce pulses of voltage inside the flat inductor.

4. Harvesting vibrations from heartbeats. French researchers at CEA-Leti and the Sorin Group are developing a low-power cardiac pacemaker, powered by mechanical energy from a patient’s own heart beats.

5. Generating electricity from breathing. João Paulo Lammoglia, an industrial designer based in London, has created a mask that converts energy provided by the wearer's breath into electricity for the recharging of small electronic devices. Inside the unit, there are small wind turbines. The product recently won a Red Dot design concept award.

6. Converting body heat into electrical current. Researchers in the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University, North Carolina have developed a thermoelectric device, named Power Felt, which, when touched, creates a charge.

7. Human motion to power bus stop signals. EnOcean, manufacturers of energy harvesting wireless sensors, had their technology installed on London Eco-Routemaster buses during the Olympics. When a passenger pressed the bell push, enough electrical power was generated for a wireless module to activate the stop display and produce an audible stop signal.

8. Heartbeat-powered pacemaker. Researchers from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan have designed a device that harvests energy from the reverberation of heartbeats through the chest and converts it to electricity to run a pacemaker.

9. Pedestrian power. UK startup Pavegen Systems make tiles which produce energy when someone walks over them. The technology converts kinetic energy to electricity which can be stored and used for a variety of applications.

10. Producing electricity from running. Lebanese designer Nadim Inaty has produced an an energy recycling wheel that transforms kinetic energy produced by the human body into electricity. The Green Wheel (pictured) can produce enough energy in 30 minutes to charge 12 mobile phones.

More information, diagrams and illustrations on these technologies and devices and can be found in EE Times (http://www.eetimes.com/design/smart-energy-design/4403423/10-human-motion-energy-harvesting-solutions-of-2012?pageNumber=0).