Hot on the heels of our Human Chargers story (about using body motion to recharge electronics) we bring you this: power-generating sneakers.

The shoes, created by Louisiana Tech electrical engineer Ville Kaajakari, use piezoelectric technology embedded in the soles to store kinetic energy derived from the motion of walking. The energy can then be harvested in real time to charge mobile devices, or saved for later use. At present, the sneakers generate enough power for small GPS receivers, and researchers are working to develop a product that would be able to charge larger devices such as cell phones.

To watch a video of the shoe generator powering some LED lights, see this page.

[Inhabitat]

Photo: ashleigh290/Flickr

Filed under: e-News, Electrical, Environmental

Tags: Electrical, Energy, Environmental