Walking on New Power-Generating Floor Creates Electricity
A "power generating floor" has been developed that uses brand-new technology to generate power. It utilizes the mechanism of resonance energy that is created when people walk across the floor. The application of this kind of energy from people walking on a surface has been largely neglected, but Mr. Kohei Hayamizu, CEO of the Onryoku Hatsuden Co., has been working on it since 2003. He successfully increased the power generating efficiency and durability by combining elements of piezo-electricity and resonance phenomena, and brought the technology up to the level of experimental practical application.
This technology is also considered important for reducing environmental impacts. East Japan Railway Company and Keio University cooperated in conducting an experiment using "power generating floor" technology for about two months at the Marunouchi North Ticket Gate in Tokyo station.
The floor-type dynamo needs no other equipment to generate power, so it is considered particularly appropriate as an auxiliary power source for households and hospitals in the event of power failures due to natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. It could also be used as a power source for the increasing number of sensors and information/telecommunications devices that are becoming ubiquitous in society.
This technology received an award at the fourth Annual Idea to Product (I2P) Global Competition, which features early-stage technologies seeking commercialization, held November 10-11, 2006 at the University of Texas at Austin, U.S. It attracted participants' attention and received sponsorship offers.
"Electricity generating floor" enables passengers to generate electrical power at stations
At stations in the center of town, many people come and go. Can't this enoumous amount of transfer energy be used to generate electricity? Research of the "electricity generating floor" started from such a unique idea, and is based on the research by Kohei Hayamizu (1st year level at the the Graduate School of Media and Governance), Prof. Takefuji's student, to generate electrical power with sound wave and vibration. Kohei was only an elementary student when a science class led him to come up with the idea of using sound to generate electrical power, and started to study this seriously when he was in second year level at university.
The key technology of the "electricity generating floor", which generates electricity using vibration when someone steps on the floor, is piezoelectric element. The device, which charges electricity when pressure is applied and modifies when energized, has been used in piezoelectric speakers, but never to generate electricity. Therefore, a device with a higher power generating effeciency was co-developed with Kyocera specifically for this project. In October 2006, an experiment started at the Marunouchi North Gate of JR Tokyo station to test electricity generating power and durability. In the future, the plan is to supply electrical power for escalators and lights with the "electricity generating floor", aiming for environmentally-friendly railways and stations.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace