Simon Fraser University researchers have developed a new wearable technology that generates electricity from the natural motion of walking and promises to revolutionize the way we charge portable battery-powered devices.
The Biomechanical Energy Harvester, which will be featured in the Feb. 8, 2008 issue of the U.S. journal, Science, resembles a lightweight orthopaedic knee brace. The device harvests energy from the end of a walker’s step, when the muscles are working to slow the movement of the leg, in much the same way that hybrid-electric cars recycle power from braking.
Wearing a device on each leg, an individual can generate up to five watts of electricity with little additional physical effort. Walking more quickly generates as much as 13 watts of electricity: at that rate, one minute of walking provides enough electricity to sustain 30 minutes of talk time on a mobile phone.