July 2021 (Volume 1 Issue 1)

Pratibodh
A Journal for Civil & Mechanical Engineering
(A free and Open Access Journal)
Homepage : https://pratibodh.org

Footstep Power Generator using Rack and Pinion Method

1J.
S. Patila, 2Prathmesh Kakade, 3Sumedh Boyware, 4Hritik Kawale, 5Makrand Wadkar
1Professor, 2,3,4,5 Students

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering, Sector 7, CBD Belpada, Navi Mumbai-400614, Maharashtra, India
2 prathmesh.s.kakade@gmail.com

Abstract
Nowadays energy and power are the one of the basic need in this modern world. Energy demand is increasing day by day.
On the other hand, the many energy resources are getting exhausted and wasted. Proposal for utilization of waste energy
of foot power with human locomotion is very relevant in populated countries like India where roads, railway stations,
bus stands, temples, etc. are overcrowded and millions of people move around. This whole energy is wasted. If this energy
made possible for utilization it will be a great invention. In this project we are converting non-conventional from just
walking foot step into electrical energy. This project uses simple drive mechanism such as rack and pinion assembly. For
this project the conversion of the force energy in to electrical energy. The control mechanism carries the rack & pinion,
D.C generator, battery and inverter control. We have discussed the various applications and further extension also. So this
project is implemented to all foot step, the power generation is very high. The initial cost of this arrangement is high.

Article Status Keywords : Renewable Energy, Foot step, Electricity, Generator.

Available online : July 15, 2021
2020 Pratibodh Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction direction for the forward and reverse direction of

This project was motivated by the need for a device
that would generate electricity from human motion,
especially footsteps. Electricity is a very important
resource in people daily life. There are numerous sources
from which are able to generate electrical energy. The
major sources of energy include but are not limited to
coal, natural gas, petroleum, and nuclear energy. Most of
these sources have adverse effects on the environmental
inclusion such as air pollution; for example, from coal
energy generation plants which then cumulatively leads
to effects such as increase in rates of global warming.
This project seeks to establish an environmentally
friendly way of generating electric power from human
motion. Such a system could be highly effective for
installation in places that expect frequent mobility of a
large population such as in educational institutions like
universities and subway station entrances and platforms.
2. Methodology
The pushing power is converted into electrical energy
by proper driving arrangement. The rack & pinion, spring
arrangement is fixed at the footsteps which are mounded
bellow the L-shapes window. The spring is used to return
the inclined L-shapes window in same position by
releasing the load. The pinion shaft is connected to the
supporter by end bearings. The larger sprocket also
coupled with the pinion shaft, so that it is running the
same speed of pinion. The larger sprocket is coupled to
the small cycle sprocket with the help of chain cycle. This
larger sprocket is used to transfer the rotation force to the
smaller sprocket. The smaller sprocket is running same
rotational movement of the larger sprocket. This action
locks like a cycle pedaling action. The system is designed
in a way that the people movement will be utilized to
generate electricity. The footstep power generator
basically translates the oscillatory motion to circular and
later to electricity.
3. Literature Review
3.1 According to T.R.Deshmukh describe with design and
modeling of parts of the model of the foot step power
generation system using 3d modeling software creo. This
process consist number of simple setup that is installed
under the walking or standing platform. Project system
works on the principle of converting the linear motion
because to pressure of foot steps into rotating motion by
rack and pinion arrangement. This mechanism fails if
there is any occurrence of variable load leads to balancing
type problems Power is not generated during return
movement of rack.
3.2 Mr. Jose Ananth Vino described the simple drive
mechanism which include rack and pinion assembly and
chain drive mechanism. The conversion of the pressure or
force energy in to electrical energy. The power generation
is very high but The initial cost of this system is high.
There is no need of power from the mains and these
system is eco friendly. It is very useful at the crowded
places and on all roads and as well as all kind of foot step
which is used to generate the electricity. Maintenance and
lubrication is required time to time. Power is not
generated during return movement of rack
 Volume 1 Issue 1 :: Pratibodh – A Journal for Civil And Mechanical Engineering

3.3 “PowerGeneration in Automobile Suspension System” requirement of electricity but as a matter of fact if we are
by C.Nithiyesh Kumar,K.Gowtham, M.Manikandan, able to design a power generating floor that can produce
P.Bharathkanna, T.Manoj Kumar 100W on just 12 steps, then for 120 steps we can produce
In this research paper author studied three methods of 1000 Watt and if we install such type of 100 floors with
foot step power generation namely piezoelectric method, this system then it can produce 1MegaWatt. Which itself
rack and pinion method and fuel piston method is an achievement to make it significant.
comparatively and found that the rack and pinion 3.8 Sabarish.R , 2Alok Kumar
mechanism is more efficient with moderate cost of In this project we are generating electrical power as non-
operation and maintenance. conventional method by simply walking or running on the
3.4 “Generation of Electrical Energy from Foot Step Using footsteps. Non-conventional energy system is very
Rack and Pinion Mechanism” by Md.Azhar, Zitender essential at this time to our nation. Non-conventional
Rajpurohit, Abdul Saif, Nalla Abhinay, P.Sai Chandu energy using foot step needs no fuel input power to
In this research paper authors used regulated 5V power, generate the electrical power. In this project the simple
500mA power supply. Bridge type full wave rectifier is drive mechanism such as rack and pinion assembly and
used to rectify the ac output of secondary of 230/12V step chain drive mechanism is used for generating power by
down transformer. A rack and pinion is a type of linear utilization of force which is obtained during the walking
actuator including a pair of gears which convert rotational on steps is converted in to electrical energy with the help
motion into linear motion. The “pinion" engages teeth on of mechanical systems. The generated power is stored by
the rack. In this paper, since the power generation using means of battery and this is used for activating the
foot step get its energy requirements from Non- connected loads. This is one of the compact and efficient
renewable source of energy. There is no need of power systems for generating electricity which can be easily
from external sources (mains) and there is less pollution installed in many regions.
in this source of energy. It is very useful to the places like
all roads and as well as all kind of foot step which is used 4. Component
to generate the non-conventional energy like electricity. 4.1 Spring: A spring is characterized as a versatile body,
3.5 “Electrical Power Generation Using Foot Step for whose capacity is to twist when stacked and to recuperate
Urban Area Energy Applications” by Joydev Ghosh, Amit its unique shape when burden is expelled. There are many
Saha, Samir Basak, Supratim Sen. types of springs but here we used a helical compression
In this research paper authors used 80 volts and 40 mA spring and there are four springs used as our
from one coil have been generated from a prototype requirement.
model as first invention. The second invention provides
95 volts and 50 mA from one coil and this generated
power can be used to light LED array and to run DC fan
after rectifying the AC or can charge batteries. For high
efficiency in the axel of the second gear, they fitted a
strong magnet vertically, so that when the gear will rotate
due to human body weight the magnet also rotate. The
magnet is placed in a loop type copper coil. When the
magnet start rotating according to the Faraday’s law of
electromagnetic induction, there will be induced emf in
the coil.
3.6 “Power generation through step” by Vipin Kumar
Yadav1, Vivek Kumar Yadav1, Rajat Kumar1, Ajay Yadav Figure 1: Spring
In these research paper authors used equipments with
following specification: Motor Voltage:10 volt Type: D.C. Table1: Specifications of Spring
Generator, RPM:1000 rpm, Gear 1-Mild Steel,No. of Sr. no Properties Value
teeth:59(big gear),No. of teeth:36(small gear),Type: Spur 1. Height (H) 100mm
Gear, No. of gear used:2 Spring 1-Load bearing 2. Outer diameter (Do) 30mm
capacity:60-90 kg, Mild Steel,Total displacement:5 inch, 3. Inner diameter (Di) 24mm
Bearing 1- Type: Ball bearing, Bearing no.N35,Shaft 1- 4. Wire diameter (Dw) 3mm
Diameter: 15 mm- Material: Mild steel author concluded 5. Total no. of turns (ni) 12
that with these method energy conversion is simple 6. Active no. of turns(n) 10
efficient and pollution free. 7. Spring index (C) 1.10
3.7 Rajeev Ranjan Tiwari, Rahul Bansal, Quamruzzaman, 8. Free length (L) 92.96mm
Pushyamitra Gupta, Dr. Sarnendu Paul 9. Pitch of coil (P) 10.32mm
This paper is all about generating electricity when people
walk on the Floor. Think about the forces you exert which
is wasted when a person walks by. The idea is to convert
the weight energy to electrical energy The Power
generating floor intends to translate the kinetic energy to
the electrical power. Energy Crisis is the main issue of
world these days. The motto of this research work is to
face this crisis somehow. Though it won’t meet the

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 Volume 1 Issue 1 :: Pratibodh – A Journal for Civil And Mechanical Engineering

4.2 Rack and Pinion: A rack and pinion gears system is Table 4: Specifications of Gears
composed of two gears. The normal round gear is the
Sr. no Properties Value
pinion gear and the straight or flat gear is the rack. A rack
and pinion are types of linear actuator that comprises a 1. No. of Teeth 23
pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear
motion. The circular pinion engages teeth on a linear . 2. Module 1.75

3. Pressure angle (degree) 20

4. Shaft angle (degree) 90

5. Pitch Diameter 40.25

6. Addendum 1.75

7. Dedendum 2.1
Figure 2: Rack and Pinion

4.4 Chain and Sprockets: Chain and sprocket drives are

used to perform three basic functions: transmitting
Table 2: Specification of rack
power, conveying materials, and for timing purposes.
Sr. Material Value Chain and sprocket drives are used to transmit power
no from one component to another. Specifically, they
1. Module 1.5mm transfer speed and torque through the use of a linked
2. Cross section 75×25mm chain and sprockets.

Table3: Specification of pinion

Sr. no Material Value
1. Outside diameter 75mm
2. Circular pitch 4.7mm
3. Tooth depth 3.375mm
4. Module 1.5mm
5. Pressure angle 21
6. Pitch circle diameter 72mm
Figure 4: Chain And Sprocket
7. Circular tooth thickness 2.355mm
8. Fillet radius 0.45mm Table 5: Specification of Chain Sprocket
9. Clearance 0.375mm
Sr. no Properties Value
4.3 Gear: A gear is a rotating machine part having cut 1. Pitch 12.7mm
teeth which mesh with another toothed part to transmit 2. Width 30mm
torque. Geared devices can change the speed, torque, and 3. Teeth 16
direction of a power source. Gears almost always produce
a change in torque, creating a mechanical advantage, 4.5 Dynamo: Dynamo is an electrical generator. This
through their gear ratio, and thus may be considered a dynamo produces direct current with the use of a
simple machine. commutator. the dynamo uses rotating coils of wire and
magnetic fields to convert mechanical rotation into a
pulsing direct electric current.

Figure 3: Gear

Figure 5: Dynamo

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 Volume 1 Issue 1 :: Pratibodh – A Journal for Civil And Mechanical Engineering
5. Design
Figure 6: 2D Design of Foot Step Power Generator
Figure 7: 3D Design of Foot Step Power Generator
6. Working
 When force is applied on the plate by standing on
plate the spring gets compressed.
 The rack here moves vertically down.
 The pinion meshed with the rack gear results in
circular motion of the pinion gear.
 For one full compression the pinion moves 1 full
circle.
 When the force is released from the plate pinion
reverses and moves another circle and cause
rotation of gear pairs.
 The generator attached to the last gear hence
results in the dc power generation.
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7. Objective
Rack and Pinion gear sets are a type of linear actuator.
Their purpose is to translate rotational motion into linear
motion - they take the energy from a gear that's moving in
its normal rotation, and convert it into a forward or
backward motion.
8. Advantages
 Power generation is simply walking on step.
 No need for fuel input.
 This is a non-conventional system.
 Self-generation - no external power required.
 Compact yet highly sensitive.
 Battery is used to store the generated power.
 Reliable, Economical, Eco-Friendly.
9. Disadvantages
 Only applicable for the particular places.
 Initial cost of this arrangement is high.
 Output affected by temperature variation.
 Care should be taken for batteries.
10. Applications
 To run small electrical equipment during load
shedding hours.
 Emergency backup power during blackout hours.
 Installment of this system along the sidewalks or
pavement can harness a lot of power.
 This power is used to light the street lights.
 Power air circulation system for rooms using small
fans.
 This system can also be used in bus stands, car
parking systems, airports, lifts etc.
11. Conclusion
In modern world the demand of renewable energy is
increasing rapidly. Power generating slab doesn’t need
any fuel to produce power. It just uses the energy that is
lost by a human during walking. These slabs can be
helpful in reducing power crisis. If these slabs are
produced industrially and further research is done on
materials and the design, the efficiency will be a lot better.
Then these slabs can be viewed as a next promising
source of generating power, especially in a country like
India, where we have a lot of power crisis, and population
explosion. Spreading this technology on large scale would
be much cheaper and efficient than any other renewable
sources of energy, and it should be highly recommended.
This technology is completely harmless to life of any sort,
and the environment, and highly beneficial, especially in
our developing nation.
12. Future Scope of Work
As for the future scope, we can use this principle in the
speed breakers in highways where there is a lot of rush,
thus the input torque and ultimate output of generator
can be increased. If this technology is implemented in the
stairs of a very busy building, a lot of efficient electrical
power can be harnessed to run the loads in the building.
The approach for the utilization of waste energy by
 Volume 1 Issue 1 :: Pratibodh – A Journal for Civil And Mechanical Engineering

human locomotion is very relevant in highly populated

countries like India and China where the roads, railway
stations, bus stands, temples, etc. are all over crowded.
This whole human locomotive energy being wasted, if can
be made possible for utilization it will be a great invention
and the crowd energy farms will be very useful energy
sources in crowded countries. A large amount of electrical
energy can be harnessed by such a technique and can be
implemented to run necessary loads.

References and notes

1. T.R.Deshmukh. Design and analysis of a
Mechanical Device to harvest energy from
human footstep motion Volume 3, Special Issue
1,ICSTSD 2016M. Young, The Technical Writer’s
Handbook. Mill Valley, CA: University Science,
1989.
2. “Power generation through step” by Vipin Kumar
Yadav, Vivek Kumar Yadav, Rajat Kumar, Ajay
Yadav.
3. Jose Ananth Vino. Power Generation Using Foot
Step, International Journal of Engineering Trends
and Technology (IJETT) Volume1 Issue2 May
2011.
4. “PowerGeneration in Automobile Suspension
System” by C.Nithiyesh Kumar,K.Gowtham,
M.Manikandan, P.Bharathkanna, T.Manoj Kumar
5. “Generation of Electrical Energy from Foot Step
Using Rack and Pinion Mechanism” by Md.Azhar,
Zitender Rajpurohit, Abdul Saif, Nalla Abhinay,
P.Sai Chandu
6. “Electrical Power Generation Using Foot Step for
Urban Area Energy Applications” by Joydev
Ghosh, Amit Saha, Samir Basak, Supratim Sen.
7. Rajeev Ranjan Tiwari[1], Rahul Bansal[2],
Quamruzzaman[3], Pushyamitra Gupta[4], Dr.
Sarnendu Paul[5]
8. Binoy Boban, Tom Jose V, Sijvo MT, “Electricity
generation from footsteps; A Generative energy
Resources”International journal of scientific and
research Publication 1-3,March 2013.

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