Research Log #3 (Ted Talk) - Solutionary Project 2023

Date: February 21, 2023

Name: Kaira Kwong
Essential Question: How can safety be enhanced from a light source that does not use any electricity?

Three Points to Prove:

#1: How can human movement help with conservation of energy?

#2: Why are non-renewable energy sources, like coal, oil, and gas, valuable resources for humans?

#3: Why is artificial light necessary for pedestrian safety?

Point that this Source Proves: #1: How can human movement help with conservation of energy?

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove)

Laurence Kemball-Cook created Pavegen, “a flooring tile that uses kinetic energy from your footsteps and converts it
to electricity […] The slab moves an imperceivable amount to users, less than five millimeters” (1:08-1:25).

Kembell-Cook went on to explain the possibilities of this innovation; “imagine many hundreds of millions of people in
the thousand cities around the world and how we can utilize that energy source,” like “transportation sites” or
“shopping centers” (2:03-2:18).

Kembell-Cook called the intrigue on these tiles the “gamification of energy saving” (2:45-2:48).

One of Kembell-Cook’s projects was “a tube station in London with 50% of its lighting powered entirely from people
walking” (5:17-5:22).

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

Laurence Kemball-Cook is the inventor of Pavegen and talked about his creation in TED2013’s stop in
London. This technology can power the world and has many different capabilities and ways of use. During this speech
from ten years ago, we were not as advanced as a society as we are now. There are many things we take for granted,
like having the internet at our fingertips or being able to send messages at the speed of light. His TED talk was
something new for the audience as he showed his eye-catching creation with such passion.
Kemball-Cook mentioned how human movement, footsteps, were everlasting. The world is always trying to
become more sustainable, trying to use solar and wind as viable sources of power. But the problem he brought up was,
in a city like London, or any place in general, when there is no direct sunlight or heavy wind, these power sources are
not reliable. His idea, Pavegen, takes something that will never stop, humans. Our footsteps create kinetic energy and
converts it into electricity, either using this power right away as a light or battery source or storing it away to be used
for other purposes.
He did a demonstration of how the tile worked and how it looked during his TED talk, describing the “unit”
and “a 7-watt light filament,” pointing out the center of the slab from the unit too. He stepped on the tile and the unit’s
center and side light lit up with just his movement. His plan to utilize these tiles in places with millions of people, and
in turn, millions of footsteps, in places like transportation and shopping hubs is the way to make good use of the
design. The light in the center of the unit, although using 5% of the footstep’s energy, creates this “gamification” for
the users. He stated that he knows “you can get 30% more people walking on that unit because of feedback,” referring
to the tile lighting up as the users step on it.
Pavegen was installed in a school’s corridor, music festivals, and much more. Kemball-Cook stated that “fossil
fuel generators, powered by diesel, are really harmful for the environment.” Going commercial with these, meaning
widespread and big, allows for the chance to see real change from this technology. For example, his idea for London’s
tube; with 50% of lighting coming from footsteps, that will add up and save London and the world a lot of energy that
would have come from non-renewable resources.
Work Cited (correct MLA format):
“How to Turn Your Footsteps into Energy.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 July 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klvf5ldFA0w. Accessed 20 Feb. 2023. 

This is a reputable and reliable TED talk because the inventor of Pavegen, the topic I was trying to research, was the
presenter. The video was uploaded to YouTube by channel TEDTalentSearch and cited in multiple articles.

Pavegen was the reason why I found this technology interesting. I vaguely knew about them before,

but after starting the research for this project, I went more in depth on this company. I actually found this

TedTalk and decided to go with this topic because I knew finding a TedTalk would be hard for any topic.

This video is more than ten years old so seeing the evolution of Pavegen on their website now, compared to

what the founder, Kemball-Cook, said. This video is from the beginning of this company, so it was merely

an idea waiting to explode. Now, it is in many different countries, displayed everywhere. I am doing this

journal afterwards, but I definitely needed to do solutionary log #4, which I did!