Walkers in the central crossing between the Olympic stadium and Westfield Stratford City mall in London will be taking more impactful strides. As they walk, they will actually be helping generate enough energy to power approximately half of the mall’s outdoor lighting needs. 20 specially designed tiles will be installed throughout the crossing. According to cnn.com “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…”How these slabs convert the energy has been kept secret, though it is known that these tiles compress 5 millimeters when they are stepped on. As for cost, developer of this technology 25 year old Laurence Kemball-Cook said, "As with all things of this nature, on a large scale and in the long term, its success will be determined by how cost-effective it is to produce ... If it turns out to be expensive, then it will struggle to find a place as anything more than a niche application."
This technology reminds me of the sOccket soccer ball that leverages “movement of the ball [which] forces a magnet through a coil that induces a voltage to generate electricity.“ sOccket was created by young women in college in hopes of helping kids in Africa power their lights at night from energy genered through play during the day. To read my article on sOccket, click here. I absolutely love the idea of harnessing energy generated from sports and activities to power lights. Both sOccket and PaveGen are conceptually brilliant, but will face roadblocks in widespread adoption due to cost. Hopefully both can get off the ground and inspire others to look at sports in a new, more powerful way. Ref. cnn.com, Pic Ref. cnn.com
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