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We've all come across some fascinating shoe designs, and a few of them are even capable of generating energy through walking or exercise. A team from Rice University has taken this concept further by developing a product called PediPower. This small device is embedded in shoes and captures energy each time the heel strikes the ground during movement.
The research group consists of students from Rice University who created this innovative design as part of a challenge set by Cameron International. Their goal was to develop technology that can generate power through human activity. After analyzing how force is distributed across the foot with each step, they focused on the heel—since it's the first point of contact with the ground and typically bears the most pressure.
In the image, you can see the PediPower prototype installed in a shoe. It features a special "arm" attached to the heel area. When the foot lands, this arm makes contact with the ground, acting like a lever. The device also includes a gear system. With every step, a small motor mounted on the side of the shoe rotates slightly, transferring the generated power through wires to a battery via a voltage regulator.
During bench testing, the PediPower produced an average of 400 milliwatts of energy, though actual walking performance was slightly lower. The team is currently working to optimize the design, aiming to make both the forefoot and heel contribute to energy generation.
However, the current version of PediPower is quite bulky, making it unsuitable for daily use. The team plans to hand over the project to another group of students later this year, with the goal of reducing the size while increasing energy output. They hope that in the future, PediPower could become a commercial product, offering power for mobile devices or other electronics. We're excited about the potential of such innovations to improve everyday life in meaningful ways.
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