title: Generating electricity while walking with loads.
abstract: We have developed the suspended-load backpack, which converts mechanical energy from the vertical movement of carried loads (weighing 20 to 38 kilograms) to electricity during normal walking [generating up to 7.4 watts, or a 300-fold increase over previous shoe devices (20 milliwatts)]. Unexpectedly, little extra metabolic energy (as compared to that expended carrying a rigid backpack) is required during electricity generation. This is probably due to a compensatory change in gait or loading regime, which reduces the metabolic power required for walking. This electricity generation can help give field scientists, explorers, and disaster-relief workers freedom from the heavy weight of replacement batteries and thereby extend their ability to operate in remote areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. lrome@sas.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Lawrence C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Rome
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: Evan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Taeseung D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Yoo
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D004560:Electricity; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D016138:Walking; D016474:Weight-Bearing
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide