I agree, Tim, especially now that we have so many gadgets that need continual recharging. I would imagine if this opened up, there would be a wide range of applications to charge devices. Perhaps one of those hand-grip exercise tools that build arm muscle while producing electricity.
Last year I saw powered exoskeleton tests for the army. The exoskeleton was a load-bearing means. I suspect this might end up being more useful than energy boots. Note how much the soldier's load weight has increased over time. It's always going up. A small weight savings in batteries will be erased by other, new, absolutely necessary equipment.
The picture reminds me of some boots that I once owned. I would like to see a race between somebody wearing them and an infantry-man weraing normal issue boots. Of course it is possible that they could run faster than I could while wearing safety boots.
Aside from that it does look like a potentially good idea.
The picture reminds me of some boots that I once owned. I would like to see a race between somebody wearing them and an infantry-man weraing normal issue boots. Of course it is possible that they could run faster than I could while wearing safety boots.
Aside from that it does look like a potentially good idea.
Applying this in the battlefield can be a great application, but civilian uses of this technology are also high. Imagine a running shoe with a similar technolgy that charges your Ipod or cell phone while you go running. This would be a geat way to stay green.
It is also interesting to note that many semiconductor device manufacturers have come out with specific energy harvester IC, like Linear Technologies LTC 3588. This segment will definitely gather momentum. Success stories like that of solar impluse http://www.solarimpulse.com/ will act as catalysts in energy harvesting.
You're right, Gusman, that's definitely coming. But assuming the foot generator doesn't impede movement -- or squeak too much -- it's quite a clever idea for helping the soldier to be self-sufficient out in the field.
Robotic soldiers--now that's a development I could get behind. Kind of like those soldiers/transformer-type robots that were part of the military crew in James Cameron's Avatar movie. Who cares if they get blown up. It's only money!!
Actually, the article describes the energy harvesting to be in the "heel-strike" portion of the gait cycle; so, the extra 100# would add about 50% to the moment about the ankle (assuming solidiers are less than 200#), making the 6-9W about 2-3% of the maximum ankle power. We are collaborating on the opposite problem, providing power to the ankle for those with disabilities; and, this portion of the gait cycle will be harvested as well, though to a much smaller degree.
I suspect that this is just a step toward robotic solidiers anyway, for those instances where UAV's don't work.
This is really an impractical idea for the reasons other posters have mentioned.
Nevertheless, I would expect it to morph into an email coming our way shortly, in all-caps, of course, to the effect of "Obama forcing our heroes in Afghanistan to go green and recycle their batteries to keep the country pollution free"
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