Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
What happens to the collective energy of many feet walking around? On a normal floor, the energy dissipates. Enter Pavegen Systems, a London-based start up whose tiles are designed to collect the kinetic energy of footsteps and turn it into electricity. The tiles are in use Westfield Stratford City Mall, the world’s largest urban mall, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys near Canterbury, and Federation Square in Melbourne. 5 percent of the converted electricity is used to light the round LED-lighted logo in the center of each tile while the other 95 percent is either directly fed to the application (like a lightbulb) or stored in a battery for later use. (National Geographic)
Image from National Geographic
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One comment
This technology seems like a no-brainer especially where there is high pedestrian traffic. Hope to see this come to my city.