Animate Prime Movers: A Prototype Based Methodology for Estimation of Renewable Power Production

Abstract

The world is shifting towards renewable energy sources most notably solar and wind power. Besides these two, there are other sources of renewable power which are relatively less exploited. Among these, a rather unexplored field is that of animate prime movers. The current paper intends to present hardware prototype based methodology for evaluation of the potential of generatable power from an exercising animate prime mover – which in the current case is a male caprine subject. MATLAB environment has been used for an attempt to track the center of mass (COM) motion of the subject subsequent to its movement on a retrofitted treadmill. These COM motion trajectories can be used to evaluate the potential of generatable power – wherein the vertical COM motion upon the treadmill with an incline is compared with the corresponding COM motion on the machine when it is flat, and thus the power expended for vertical propulsion of the body is evaluated. This power is potentially generatable if the machine is kept flat and an energy harvesting mechanism is attached to it. Furthermore, the paper includes a relevant literature review section for this relatively unorthodox field.