“And at last I see the light; And it’s like the sky is new; And it’s warm and real and bright; And the world has somehow shifted.” This song by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi will have you look at this innovative technology with renewed admiration. Power can now be in every step of yours, thanks to futuristic flooring. Lighting up your home or any other pathway has never been so simple, as all you have to do is walk. This flooring concept has the potential to change the future of energy and design forever.
A concept to solve lighting problems in urban environments
Whether you live in an urban environment permanently or just frequent “the big city” from time to time, you know that staying over and trying to get a good night’s sleep is not an easy feat, especially if you are not used to it. While the hustle and bustle may continue until late into the night, one of the biggest issues in urban environments is light pollution.
The lighting at night has severe negative impacts. According to the World Economic Forum, the following negative impacts of light pollution can be observed:
- Sleep disturbances
- Altered wildlife behavior
- Habitat fragmentation
- Significant energy wastage
- Financial loss due to wasted light
- Usually powered by non-renewable sources
A few years ago, Laurence Kemball-Cook had to find renewable alternatives to power street lighting during his placement year at Eon. He found that solar and wind energy solutions were not feasible due to vast shading and low wind speeds in urban environments. This was when he realized that the answer “was underneath his feet.”
The futuristic flooring that places power in your steps
According to an interview with The Guardian, this realization led to the birth of the startup company called PaveGen Systems in 2009, which was later renamed Pavegen technology. This is what Kemball-Cook envisioned:
“My idea was a floor tile that would convert the kinetic energy from a footstep into electricity. Every time someone steps on the tile, they generate seven watts of power. The energy is stored within batteries, and then used to power lighting when it’s needed. It’s an off-grid power source for cities.”
It took many years to develop this futuristic technology that places the power in your hands (or in this case, your feet). Pavegen tiles harness energy produced by people simply walking on them. The kinetic energy is converted into power through the material’s electromechanical mechanism. This power can then be stored and utilized for a variety of applications, such as urban lighting.
This technology is about more than just power
These tiles do not just produce renewable power from human movement for lighting, as per the interview with The Guardian. These tiles can be installed for various applications, such as locations with high foot traffic:
- Schools and universities
- Offices
- Transit stations
“When you stand on a tile, it sends out wireless data. This is useful for crowdflow modelling – seeing how people move through cities. You can use it to control lighting more efficiently. It’s also a really key way for retailers to know how many people are visiting their shops. We imagine Google will cover streets with this in the future and use the data in interesting ways.” – Kemball-Cook
This futuristic flooring design will not only help reduce lighting pollution in urban environments and address all its negative impacts, but it will also revolutionize the renewable energy industry with its alternative way of powering up businesses or homesteads. First, buildings were turned into power machines with colorful facades; now, we can light them up by simply walking. The future of architectural designs will be changed forever, especially as the world transitions to innovative, renewable designs.