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Feb. 08, 2008
Harvesting Energy From Walking
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| Researchers have built a device resembling a knee brace that can generate usable amounts of electrical energy as a person walks. The brace, described in an article in the journal Science, harvests the energy lost when a human brakes the knee after swinging the leg forward to take a step. Last year, scientists created a backpack frame that translated the up-and-down motion of a frame mounted backpack to electrical energy. Other researchers are studying ways to harvest energy from footsteps by means of piezoelectric devices mounted i the soles of shoes. In this segment, Ira talks to one of the creators of the new knee-mounted device about harvesting energy from human movement. |
Produced by Karin Vergoth
Guests
-
Max Donelan
Chief Science Officer, Bionic Power
Director, SFU Locomotion Laboratory
Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology
Associate Member, School of Engineering Science
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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