“Witness the Power of a Single Footstep!”

1. iFloor The Energy Harvesting Floor “Witness the Power of a Single Footstep!” Created by: (L to R) Besa Gorani, Richard Anguilm, Joe Zick, Tim Copacia, Tiffany Truong, Mike Gojcaj, Taras Nykolayko Oakland University Senior Design Group #7, Winter 2008 • What are the advantages of the iFloor? • Creates energy (electric current) free of cost using only the mechanical energy from human footfalls • Can be easily integrated into high-traffic areas such as subway stations and airport terminals • Safe, sturdy, durable • Environmentally friendly while saving on electric bills! Method of Operation: Tile system, when suppressed by the weight of a footfall, deflects a slight amount, pressing down a spiral rod into a clutch mechanism. This mechanism is attached to a disc, which begins to spin at a high rate. High strength rare earth magnets attached to the disc move parallel to a series of magnet wire coils, generating electric current through the wire. This current is converted from AC to DC and can be stored in a battery/capacitor and used to power nearby devices. Performance: The output achieved from one tile will result in a peak of 12 volts and between 4 and 5 milliamps. This can be used to charge a battery, and in result can be used for powering a large variety of everyday applications. Increasing the number of tiles will multiply the output power, allowing for a large scope of applications in high-traffic commercial areas.