Scientists from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China have published a study on floor-mounted power generators that convert the energy of human footsteps into electricity. These systems started rapidly evolving in the last 10–15 years against a background of rising interest in off-grid power sources and the limitations of conventional batteries. Pilot and demonstration projects have been presented across London’s Heathrow Airport, at technology exhibitions in Dubai and elsewhere.
According to the researchers’ calculations, the mechanical energy of a single human footstep can reach tens of joules. It should be noted that pedestrian activity is virtually continuous and represents a renewable energy source, which makes footsteps a promising resource for devices with very low power consumption at milliwatt-scale levels.
The new study examines three main types of floor-mounted generators: electromagnetic, piezoelectric and triboelectric. It focuses chiefly on electromagnetic systems that operate according to the law of electromagnetic induction: when a person presses their feet, the magnets move relative to the coils, generating an alternating voltage. In practice, these generators are not used individually: they get combined into arrays of tiles, which are laid in pedestrian areas or inside buildings.
As shown by the authors, the key problem arises at the level of these arrays: they cause significant energy losses. When tiles are connected in series, the electric current flows through every module, including those that are not currently being stepped on. This leads to a voltage drop and additional losses in diodes and internal resistances, reducing the system’s overall efficiency and stability.
To solve this problem, the team proposed a new tile connection strategy that makes it possible to bypass inactive components automatically. The key component is a fully mechanical switching module requiring neither external power supply nor complex electronics. Each tile is equipped with a block of three mechanical switches, which are triggered directly by foot pressure. When a person steps on a tile, its generator connects to the common circuit automatically, disconnecting after the step is completed. As a result, current only flows through the operating tiles, avoiding the inactive components, and the failure of a single tile does not lead to system failure.
The efficiency of this solution has been confirmed by experiments. In a three-tile prototype with only one module operating, the new circuit provided a 33.3% increase in output voltage compared to a conventional series connection. In a demonstration test, the array achieved a peak DC voltage of about 20 V. This is enough to power a resistive load, i.e., an ordinary electric user. With real pedestrians, the system managed to power an electronic thermohygrometer for 22 seconds and a wireless sensor with Bluetooth data transmission for about 20 seconds per walk.
If implemented, these systems could be useful in areas with constant pedestrian traffic, such as train stations, airports, shopping malls and office centers, as well as in urban infrastructure, where they would power sensors, lighting fixtures and other low-power electronic devices without getting connected to the power grid.
