Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning
Most portable electronic devices are power-limited by battery capacity, and recharging these batteries often interrupts the user’s experience with the device. The product presented in this paper provides an alternative to powering portables by converting regular human walking motion to ele...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-05-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/9/5/244 |
| _version_ | 1828929716033159168 |
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| author | Haluk Akay Ruize Xu Dexter Chew Xuan Han T. Hui Teo Sang-Gook Kim |
| author_facet | Haluk Akay Ruize Xu Dexter Chew Xuan Han T. Hui Teo Sang-Gook Kim |
| author_sort | Haluk Akay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most portable electronic devices are power-limited by battery capacity, and recharging these batteries often interrupts the user’s experience with the device. The product presented in this paper provides an alternative to powering portables by converting regular human walking motion to electricity. The device harvests electric power using air bulbs, distributed in the sole of a shoe to drive a series of micro-turbines connected to small DC motors. The number and position of air bulbs is optimized to harvest the maximum airflow from each foot-strike. The system is designed to continuously drive the micro-turbines by utilizing both outflow and inflow from the air bulbs. A prototype combat boot was fitted on the right foot of a 75 kg test subject, and produced an average continuous power on the order of 10 s of mW over a 22 Ω load during walking at 3.0 mph. This combat boot provides enough electric power to a passive GPS tracker that periodically relays geographical coordinates to a smartphone via satellite without battery replacement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T00:22:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a91f6d0d2dbc46518e23584c56aae372 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T00:22:59Z |
| publishDate | 2018-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-a91f6d0d2dbc46518e23584c56aae3722022-12-21T23:25:09ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2018-05-019524410.3390/mi9050244mi9050244Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite PositioningHaluk Akay0Ruize Xu1Dexter Chew Xuan Han2T. Hui Teo3Sang-Gook Kim4Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., 1-306, Cambridge, MA 02139, USAMassachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., 1-306, Cambridge, MA 02139, USASingapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Rd., Singapore 487372, SingaporeSingapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Rd., Singapore 487372, SingaporeMassachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., 1-306, Cambridge, MA 02139, USAMost portable electronic devices are power-limited by battery capacity, and recharging these batteries often interrupts the user’s experience with the device. The product presented in this paper provides an alternative to powering portables by converting regular human walking motion to electricity. The device harvests electric power using air bulbs, distributed in the sole of a shoe to drive a series of micro-turbines connected to small DC motors. The number and position of air bulbs is optimized to harvest the maximum airflow from each foot-strike. The system is designed to continuously drive the micro-turbines by utilizing both outflow and inflow from the air bulbs. A prototype combat boot was fitted on the right foot of a 75 kg test subject, and produced an average continuous power on the order of 10 s of mW over a 22 Ω load during walking at 3.0 mph. This combat boot provides enough electric power to a passive GPS tracker that periodically relays geographical coordinates to a smartphone via satellite without battery replacement.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/9/5/244energy harvestingGPS-equipped footwearmicro turbinesfoot-step driven airflow |
| spellingShingle | Haluk Akay Ruize Xu Dexter Chew Xuan Han T. Hui Teo Sang-Gook Kim Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning Micromachines energy harvesting GPS-equipped footwear micro turbines foot-step driven airflow |
| title | Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning |
| title_full | Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning |
| title_fullStr | Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning |
| title_short | Energy Harvesting Combat Boot for Satellite Positioning |
| title_sort | energy harvesting combat boot for satellite positioning |
| topic | energy harvesting GPS-equipped footwear micro turbines foot-step driven airflow |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/9/5/244 |
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