A Review of Performance Optimization of Footstep Energy Harvester

Abstract

The energy demand and consumption are continuously increasing and in exponential steps. This requirement leads to high demand of generation of electricity by some other harmless and ecofriendly way. Thus, the recent research scenario seeks for availability of energy from any alternate sources. There are several proposals described by various researchers for generation of green and renewable energy. In this work, energy generation is proposed by effective conversion of waste energy extracted from the foot step movements and this method of energy generation is highly appreciated and followed in most of the countries and also in India. The places like railway station, temples, malls and etc., have more mobility of people and which are considered to be the important sources of foot energy. The best way to extract the foot energy is suggested using piezoelectric based technology, where floor sensors are used to sense the pressure exerted on a particular place and piezoelectric sensors are used to convert them into an electrical quantity. Appropriate DC-DC converter is then used for increasing the magnitude of power generated and suitable optimization technique is being suggested to improve the performance parameters of the generated power in order to enhance the quality of output. The boosted voltage is then stored and available as an energy source whenever required. The adaptability of piezo based technique in a real-time environment and its benefits are comparatively analyzed with other sources of renewable energy.