Development of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters for battery-less smart shoes

Abstract

For the purpose of realising the battery-less smart shoes, we have developed piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs), and PVEH-driven sports shoes. The smart shoes are equipped with acceleration sensors in the sole and Bluetooth LE (BLE) modules, which were driven by PVEHs composed of piezoelectric bimorph cantilevers. We have confirmed the capability of the PVEHs to frequently transmit the sensing data from the beacons of BLE when the subjects practically run while wearing shoes.