Footstep Power Generation using Piezo-electric Sensor
Project Preliminary, VII Semester
Department of Electrical Engineering
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology Surat – 395007
Aman Das (U19EE010), Sitanshu Yadav (U19EE032), Viral Solanki (U19EE021), Pushpendra Kumar (U19EE075)
Under the guidance of Dr. J. Venkataramanaiah
Abstract
Electricity usage is expanding at an exponential rate. This recommends
using human locomotion energy, which, despite being extractable, is not
used. This project presents an energy storage concept that employs human
movement, skipping, and running as energy. Piezoelectric sensors are used
in this innovative footstep power production system. The piezo sensors are
positioned below the platform to generate a voltage from the footstep. This
energy is then stored in the batteries and can be used whenever convenient.
A model like this is nearly suitable for India, which has prominent
pedestrian people. This method of generating charge and storing it for later
use encourages an environmentally responsible approach to energy creation
and the development of clean green energy.
Introduction
The increasing demand for electricity daily is due to advancements and
applications in the present life of humans. There are various ways to
generate electricity, one of which is to generate it through the footsteps.
While walking, weight is transferred to the road surface through footfalls on
the ground at each step, a person loses energy to the road surface in the ways
of sound, throbbing, and impact[1]. The piezoelectric concept underpins
footstep power production technology. When pressure and strain are applied
to piezoelectric materials, they can build up an electrical charge. In other
words, Piezoelectricity refers to the ability of a few materials to generate an
electric potential in the presence of a load[2].
For highly populated countries like India and China, where the mobility of
their citizens would prove to be an advantage in creating power from their
footfall, the suggestion for harnessing energy from human movement to
create electricity is particularly important and essential[3]. In India, there
are hundreds of people using the public transportation every hour, and the
roads, trains, and bus stops are all congested[4]. As a result, electricity will
be produced using this innovative method. Additionally, the use of such
technologies pulls society away from non-renewable energy sources like
coal, petroleum, and natural gas and toward renewable sources.[5]
Main Objective
1. To generate electricity by using the footsteps of humans with the help
of piezoelectric sensors.
2. To Simulate and Hardware implementation of the proposed system
3. Verifying the proposed system with Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) module and compare with existing generating systems.
Material Used
• Piezoelectric sensor, Bridge rectifier, Unidirectional diode, Super
capacitor (12V), 12V rechargeable battery, Arduino UNO, 7805
voltage regulator IC, 16x2 LCD display & Inverter (12/230 V)
Figure 1: Circuit Diagram of Footstep Power Generation using Piezoelectric Sensor
Results
Voltage
(volts)
Time (msec) Time (msec) Time(msec)
(a) (b) (c)
Voltage
(volts)
Time (msec) Time (msec)
(d) (e)
Voltage
(volts)
Time (msec) Time (msec)
(f) (g)
Figure 2: Results of the system: (a) square wave pulse (input 1) (b) Piezo
output for square wave pulse (c) load output for square wave pulse (d)
rectified output for square wave pulse (e) exponential pulse (input 2) (f)
rectified output for exponential pulse (g) load output for exponential pulse
Conclusion
• This piezoelectric are specifically suitable for implementation in a
crowded area such as pavement street, train ticket counter, stairs and
dance floor. The piezoelectric tile is also suited for the exercise tile,
for skipping or on the treadmill.
• The power generated from this piezoelectric tile can be used to
power up the light street, along the stairs and low-power appliances.
• This power generation system is renewable and has no negative
environmental effects, which is why it has contributed to the
direction of sustainable alternative energies.
Future scope
• Installing piezoelectric crystal in shoes at the rear end near the heel.
• Using piezoelectric crystal on the stairs of the bus, dance floors,
speed breakers, lifts and on the entrance of crowded areas like
schools, colleges, railway stations etc can harvest a lot of energy
which can be used in street lighting or mobile charging.
• Research is going on to harvest energy from rainwater vibrations in
areas receiving moderate to heavy rainfall.
References
[1] Chavan, M., Chauhan, S., Singh, M., & Tripathi, A. (2020). Footstep
Power Generation using Piezoelectric Sensor and Distribution using RFID.
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7(09),
1416-1420.
[2] Anton, S. R., & Sodano, H. A. (2007). A review of power harvesting
using piezoelectric materials (2003–2006). Smart materials and Structures,
16(3), R1.
[3] Prasad, P. R., Bhanuja, A., Bhavani, L., Bhoomika, N., & Srinivas, B.
(2019, May). Power generation through footsteps using piezoelectric
sensors along with GPS tracking. In 2019 4th International Conference on
Recent Trends on Electronics, Information, Communication & Technology
(RTEICT) (pp. 1499-1504). IEEE.
[4] Pramathesh, T., & Ankur, S. (2013). Piezoelectric crystals: Future
source of electricity. International Journal of Scientific Engineering, 2(4),
260-262.
[5] Kumar, K. K., Balachander, A., Shivani, M. K. K., & Gundoji, M. K.
Footstep Power Generation: An Energy Application for Rural Areas.
Footstep Power Generation using Piezo-electric Sensor
Project Preliminary, VII Semester
Department of Electrical Engineering
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology Surat – 395007

Aman Das (U19EE010), Sitanshu Yadav (U19EE032), Viral Solanki (U19EE021), Pushpendra Kumar (U19EE075)
Under the guidance of Dr. J. Venkataramanaiah