So, maybe Humans can produce electricity after all?

Question

I remember reading a Q asking if it was possible for a human to wear a suit to produce electricity from what they do everyday (move).

I recently ran across this article…

Bob Komarechka, a geologist from Sudbury, Ontario, spends many tedious days in the field lugging rock samples and electrical instruments. Two seemingly unrelated desires—one for a pair of comfortable gel-cushioned soles, the other for an alternative to frequently changing his instruments’ failing batteries—led to an epiphany.

In May 2001, Komarechka received a U.S. patent for a shoe design that uses the rolling motion of walking to produce a steady flow of electric current. When a person steps forward, fluid is forced out of a sac in the heel through the blades of a small turbine into another sac in the toe, where the fluid is held by a check valve. When the foot rolls onto its toe, the fluid is squirted back through the turbine and into the heel. Both the turbine and a microgenerator are located between the sacs, in the center of the sole, and a socket connects a wire to electrical devices.

Using calculations based on the average person’s weight, Komarechka believes that the shoes could generate a steady three watts of electricity—enough to power a hand-held computer, a GPS device, or a radio, or to continuously recharge batteries.
No prototype exists yet, although Komarechka is waiting for replies from Reebok, Nike, and the U.S. military. “I know I can make it work,” he says. “It’s fairly straightforward.”


So now the question is, is harnessing human movement possible in the future to create energy?

(even if it only powers my batteries for my MP3 player I’ll be thrilled! Endless MUSIC!)

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1012
Where article was found
;-)

Answer 1

I know of piezo or pressure generated electricity in layers of chemicals. Make shoe soles of it and you have electricity walking or standing. Thermo-electric transduction could use body heat much like solar cells change light to electricity...heat is light so why not....There's certainly enough there to power your MP3.

Answer 2

There are many other ways in the past to tap other energies. Every time people decided it was getting tedious and gave up and relied on a wall socket. What is the point of this when it costs a few bucks to have a rechargeable battery?

Answer 3

Ever hear of those watches that don't need batteries or winding? They use the movement of your arm to generate electricity (they do have batteries to store the energy, but they don't last very long).