Shoe power generator earns Louisiana Tech professor national attention

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://news.latech.edu/2010/04/25/shoe-power-generator-earns-louisiana-tech-professor-national-attention/

Shoe power generator earns Louisiana Tech professor national attention

Posted on April 25th, 2010 by Dave Guerin
Categorized under Engineering and Science, Research and Development

Dr. Ville Kaajakari, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Louisiana Tech University, is being featured by MEMS Investor Journal, a national online industry publication, for developing a technology that harvests power from a small generator embedded in the sole of a shoe.

MEMS are tiny “smart” devices that combine computer chips with micro-components such as sensors, gears, flow-channels, mirrors and actuators.

Kaajakari’s innovative technology, developed at Louisiana Tech’s Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM), is based on new voltage regulation circuits that efficiently convert a piezoelectric charge into usable voltage for charging batteries or for directly powering electronics.

“This technology could benefit, for example, hikers that need emergency location devices or beacons,” said Kaajakari. “For more general use, you can use it to power portable devices without wasteful batteries.”

...

[nykym]

1. Just don't

try to get on a plane with them.

[Nihil]

2. Ouch. (n/t)

:yoiks: