<p style="text-align: justify">Abstract: Human motion is a rich source of energy. However, the ultra-low frequency and the irregular feature of the motion make the above prospects still far from being effective. In this work, we present a translation-to-rotation converter for energy harvesting during human walking. We here propose the harvester that enables conversion of low-frequency translational vibration to high-speed rotations and further generates electricity via the electromagnetic effect. The transducer is composed of an internal thread sleeve, an external thread driving shaft, a spring, and a baseboard. Our design features a simple structure, low fabrication difficulty, and high power density. Experiments conducted on the shaker and under pseudo-walking conditions confirmed that the stiffness of the spring and the pitch of the sleeve are the two key parameters for the performance of the harvester. The harvester mounts in a shoe heel and engages power generation at the end of the stance&nbsp;phase within one gait cycle. Test subjects walking with one device with optimal spring stiffness on each shoe produce a peak power density of 310 milliwatts per cubic centimeter at a walking speed of 5km/h, which is about 300%&nbsp;higher than that of shoe-mounted devices under pseudo-walking excitation. Moreover, the proposed device could open an alternative pathway for powering smart wearable or portable electronics.</p>

A Translation-to-Rotation Converter for Scavenging Energy From Human Walking

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/SMASIS/SMASIS2021/volume/85499

ASME 2021 Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS2021)

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