Energy-harvesting device using electrostrictive polymers

摘要

The electrical response phenomenon of electrostrictive polymers is used to harvest electrical power from the general movement of objects such as from human walking motion, for example. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymer material is incorporated into the soles of footwear and is either full- or partial-wave rectified and then if desired converted to a direct current (DC) voltage level for suitable battery charging and the like.