- January 15, 2015
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seems a shoe like any other but with one difference. Has added two devices inside to store the energy generated by walking
This technology, developed by German researchers, can be used to charge electronic sensors the “wearables” -facilities who dress or portan- no need for batteries.
One of the devices uses the energy that occurs when the heel strikes the ground, the other taking of foot movement.
Both can lay the foundation for the development of a shoe laces is tied only to the elderly.
With the information you can give us sensors, you can calculate how far you’ve walked and in which direction.
The details of the invention were published in the journal Smart Materials and Structures .
Otra applications where the German team is working is an internal browser for the shoe, allowing calculate the acceleration of the walk, the angular velocity (or register if not a rotation of the foot) and the magnetic field.
“With the information from the sensors could calculate how far you’ve walked and in which direction. Imagine a rescue unit entering a building that does not know. Can you verify in what direction walked using a handheld device, “he told the BBC Klevis Ylli, the research center HSG-IMIT
See:. 2014, the year in which the revolution materialized” wearables ”
Cords that are known to tie
The two devices Shoe generate power by harnessing the movement that occurs between magnets and coils.
When the magnetic field of a moving magnet passes through a coil, an electric current is generated.
This energy is relatively small (between three and four milliwatts when it is more powerful).
This is not enough to load, for example, a mobile phone, you need about 2,000 milliwatts.
However, it is sufficient to charge small sensors and transmitters, which opens the door to a host of new applications.
To develop the devices was necessary to find a balance between the amount of energy that could generate, and the size and other limitations.
Also read: How to harness electricity generated by our body
According to Ylli, the prototype created by his team offers a number of advantages over previous devices
The energy is related to the size, but if you want to integrate a well device to the sole of a shoe, you have to work with strict limitations on the weight and length of the device
“Some approaches in the past, for example, tried to use a lever under the shoe to load a mechanism that transmits power and an electric generator and use some flashlights. Could generate up to 250 milliwatts but they were huge and heavy, and the mechanism protruding from the shoe, “explains Ylli the BBC.
” The energy is related to the size, but if you want to integrate such a device to the sole of a shoe, you have to work with strict limitations on the weight and length of the device, “says the researcher.
” We believe we have designed comparatively smaller devices, if we consider energy generating “.
As explained Ylli, the device uses the energy produced by the foot to move was developed with the intention of creating a shoe that laces are tethered only to the elderly.
This shoe could detect when the user puts it and react accordingly tying and untying when needed.
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