Powering Gadgets a Step at a Time

Powering Gadgets a Step at a Time - Technology Review:
by Prachi Patel on technologyreview.com

  "A new way to harvest footfall energy could someday let shoes generate enough power to keep cell phones and laptops topped up.

  University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have come up with a microfluidics technique that scavenges considerably more energy from human footfalls and converts it into electric power. Previous attempts to make energy-harvesting shoes have yielded less than a watt of power, but the new approach could lead to a shoe-mounted generator that produces up to 10 watts... 
  Cell phones and smart phones need about one to two watts, while small laptops need 10 to 12 watts. Power-generating shoes could be an important breakthrough for soldiers, who currently carry heavy batteries to power their radios, GPS units, and night-vision goggles...."

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