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This study focuses on resource efficiency in the energy sector by exploring biomechanical energy harvesting technologies for off-grid applications. Various energy harvesters, including knee joint and backpack systems, have been evaluated. Still, heel-strike harvesters have emerged as the most efficient portable solution, offering energy generation with minimal disruption to the human gait cycle. To maximize energy output while ensuring a lightweight and ergonomic design, this research leveraged piezoelectric and electromagnetic technologies. The optimization procedure was done under three concepts. They are selecting an optimized piezo plate configuration on the heel area (concept I), increasing the rate of piezoelectric pulse generation within a stair gait cycle with a newly designed mechanism (concept II) and using a hybrid technology method with piezo-electricity and electro-magnetism (concept III). A hiker scenario was chosen to evaluate the feasibility of this mechanism in off-grid areas with temporary power outages. Power generation data from testing was used to estimate the system’s ability to meet the energy consumption needs of hikers. A prototype was designed only using four piezoelectric plates integrated into a shoe insole to test concept I. It resulted in a peak AC voltage of 3.05 V; an estimated power of 29 mW; and an estimated current of 7.8 mA for a 57.10 kg person whose hiking speed was 0.5 m/s. It was only sufficient to cover the minimum power consumption range of a hiker (100 mAh) within 12.81 h. The system’s performance was suggested to be optimized using concepts II and III to achieve the higher power consumption ranges (100 mAh<). A specific mechanism was designed for this optimization and simulated considering mechanical strength over foot pressure and electromagnetism. The research concludes that combining piezoelectric and electromagnetic harvesting technologies while implementing the conceptual mechanism developed provides a reliable, practical energy solution for hikers, with the potential for future energy efficiency and user comfort improvements.

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Optimizing a Heel-Strike Energy Harvester for Off-Grid Applications Using Piezoelectric and Electromagnetic Technologies

  • 会议论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • P. C. N. Fernando,
  • L. N. Wickramarathna

摘要

This study focuses on resource efficiency in the energy sector by exploring biomechanical energy harvesting technologies for off-grid applications. Various energy harvesters, including knee joint and backpack systems, have been evaluated. Still, heel-strike harvesters have emerged as the most efficient portable solution, offering energy generation with minimal disruption to the human gait cycle. To maximize energy output while ensuring a lightweight and ergonomic design, this research leveraged piezoelectric and electromagnetic technologies. The optimization procedure was done under three concepts. They are selecting an optimized piezo plate configuration on the heel area (concept I), increasing the rate of piezoelectric pulse generation within a stair gait cycle with a newly designed mechanism (concept II) and using a hybrid technology method with piezo-electricity and electro-magnetism (concept III). A hiker scenario was chosen to evaluate the feasibility of this mechanism in off-grid areas with temporary power outages. Power generation data from testing was used to estimate the system’s ability to meet the energy consumption needs of hikers. A prototype was designed only using four piezoelectric plates integrated into a shoe insole to test concept I. It resulted in a peak AC voltage of 3.05 V; an estimated power of 29 mW; and an estimated current of 7.8 mA for a 57.10 kg person whose hiking speed was 0.5 m/s. It was only sufficient to cover the minimum power consumption range of a hiker (100 mAh) within 12.81 h. The system’s performance was suggested to be optimized using concepts II and III to achieve the higher power consumption ranges (100 mAh<). A specific mechanism was designed for this optimization and simulated considering mechanical strength over foot pressure and electromagnetism. The research concludes that combining piezoelectric and electromagnetic harvesting technologies while implementing the conceptual mechanism developed provides a reliable, practical energy solution for hikers, with the potential for future energy efficiency and user comfort improvements.