Energy Harvesting From Piezoelectric Materials Fully Integrated in Footwear

Abstract

In the last few years, there has been an increasing demand for low-power and portable-energy sources due to the development and mass consumption of portable electronic devices. Furthermore, the portable-energy sources must be associated with environmental issues and imposed regulations. These demands support research in the areas of portable-energy generation methods. In this scope, piezoelectric materials become a strong candidate for energy generation and storage in future applications. This paper describes the use of piezoelectric polymers in order to harvest energy from people walking and the fabrication of a shoe capable of generating and accumulating the energy. In this scope, electroactive ß-polyvinylidene fluoride used as energy harvesting element was introduced into a bicolor sole prepared by injection, together with the electronics needed to increase energy transfer and storage efficiency. An electrostatic generator was also included in order to increase energy harvesting.