Kinetic Pavements

       Can you imagine the power of 50,000 steps a day? Laurence Kembell-Cook, the director of Pavegen Systems, has made a kinetic pavement. 

So, what is Kinetic Pavement?

Kinetic Pavement is a special energy-harvesting tile made from 95% recycled tyres  that could flex by 5mm when stepped on. When stepped, it could produce electricity for about 8 watts, according to the duration of the step. Enough tiles and footsteps can create enough energy to be stored in batteries, or even help power streetlights and other electrical things.

History of Kinetic Pavement

Kinetic Pavement was first made by Laurence Kembell-Cook, the founder and now became the CEO of Pavegen Systems. The first idea came up when Cook was walking down the streets of London. London isn't the sunniest city in the world, so a solar alternative energy wouldn't work well in there. He keep on thinking until a finally an idea of making a kinetic pavement came up. 

The development of the first prototype of the Pavegen flooring tile was funded by a Royal Society of Arts International Design Directions prize. The first generation tile was made from recycled polymer, with the top surface made from recycled truck tires. The first tile was made in 2006. At that time, Pavegen says each pedestrian generates an average of 5 watts per footstep at 12-48 volts DC, enough to run an LED street lamp for 30 seconds. An improved tile was developed in 2016 which, according to the company, improved energy conversion by about 20 times

How does Kinetic Pavement work?

Kinetic Pavement converts the kinetic energy from footsteps of pedestrians into renewable electricity which is stored in a lithium polymer battery or even for off grid applications like street lightning, displays, speaker, and advertising. The electricy that are formed can be used to power appliances directly, or stored for later us

Pavogen's tiles are electro magnetic. 95% of the tiles is made from recycled materials (mostly rubber and some marine grade stainless steel). It is waterproof and can withstand outdoor conditions because it's made of rubber. To put it simply, the tiles have some sort of flywheels beneath them that spin when walked on poducing about 8W with every footstep. They also have generator in every corner, allowing them to produce energy in every part of the shape. Each tile have a life of approximately 20 million steps or around 5 years. 

Variables that Cook applies in order to achieve his dream:

1.  Never give up. Eventhough he got rejected by 150 investors and the goverment, he still has the urge to search for the perfect investor for his invention

2.  Look at your environment. Be sensitive of what the environment needs. Cook saw London, and from there he made a great invention.

3. Be Creative. Making an invention is a good thing, but upgrading it makes it better. Cook doesn't stop when he hae made kinetic pavement, instead he keep on perfecting it until now.

Improvements that Kinetic Pavement should apply:

1. More tiles applied. The average person walks around 150 million steps in their lifetime which, at the moment, is enough to power the average family home for just three weeks. But, if there are kinetic pavement everywhere, this means that 150 million steps times 3 billion people that could walk over the tiles. This could provide so much more alternative energy! 

2. Put a footstep detector. Footstep detector means we can know the approximate number of people who pass the street each day. In this way, the governors could urge more people to walk on the street and not use private transportation. Thus, we can minimize pollution.

3. More weight applied on the tile.  More weight means that when the foot steps the tile, there will be more force exerted thus more electricity can be produced.