“If scaled up to the size that would fit in a typical shoe, this would enable the Wisconsin researchers to harvest 2 watts of power, they report today in Nature Communications. At that rate, a person could completely recharge a standard cell phone battery by going for a 2-hour stroll, Krupenkin says. Krupenkin and Taylor have formed a company called InStep NanoPower in Madison to commercialize the new technology. They are currently working to produce a prototype device that can be fitted into the sole of a shoe, which they expect will be ready in 2 years.”
I remember a team from MIT back in the 80s and 90s working on piezo-electric show inserts that would power a weak computer for exchanging business cards via a hand shake.
