New smart shoes can harvest your energy while you walk.
In previous years, the term “smart shoes” usually described footwear that incorporated GPS functioning into the shoes. For example, two years ago the Aetrex Navistar positioned itself as a GPS shoe that could help track people suffering from Alzheimer’s. And just last year, many were talking about Lechal shoes and insoles and their Bluetooth compatibility that allows them to work with Google Maps to assist runners with directions while jogging. However, with both of those examples in mind, the meaning of smart shoes seems to be changing.
A new smart shoe is on the horizon.
With technology created by German researchers, a new meaning of smart shoes has emerged. Considered smart shoes for their ability to harvest your energy, rather than for their ability to “think,” these shoes have two devices, both of which are integrated into the soles of your shoes, which collect your energy as you create it. The first device harvests the energy you produce with the swinging motion of your feet, while the second device collects the energy your heel makes when it makes contact with the ground.
The general idea is that the energy that the devices collect would then power your wearable devices. As a result, the energy you create on a daily basis would be harvested and put to use, creating an alternative to plugging your devices into your outlets at home. As a result, the smart shoes would assist in preventing your devices from draining unnecessary electricty from your home, ultimately assisting with lowering your carbon footprint.
Learn more about these smart shoes from the below news resources:
- ABC News: These Smart Shoes Were Made for Harvesting Your Walking Energy
- LiveScience: ‘Smart Shoe’ Devices Could Charge Up as You Walk
- BBC News: Smart shoe devices generate power from walking
Topics you may also be interested in:
(Image via Pixabay)