Shoes-equipped piezoelectric transducer for energy harvesting: A brief review

摘要

This paper reviews shoes-equipped energy harvesting technology based on piezoelectric materials. Since the life of battery that powers portable and wireless electronics is limited, and it is impossible to replace battery anytime anywhere, a large amount of studies have focused on energy harvesting technology as a self-power source of portable devices. Harvesting energy from human body is deemed to a better convenient method and the mechanical energy released by foot when walking or running is a major energy source. Therefore, one of the most attractive options for harvesting energy from body is to mount the energy transducers into shoes. Then, piezoelectric material is suitable for the fabrication of shoes-equipped transducer for its high ability on converting mechanical energy into electric energy. This paper reviews key ideas and performances of the reported shoes-equipped piezoelectric transducer. The various piezoelectric materials and structures of generator shoes are also reviewed.