Backpack Energy Harvesting System

Abstract

Energy is existing everywhere and always being transferred from one state to another, even with the slightest movement of an object or matter. The human body uses potential energy and transfers it into kinetic energy when walking. Harvesting energy from the human locomotion is clean. The aim of this research is to study the biomechanics of a human body during motion and exploit the kinetic and vibrational energies to generate electricity to power a mechanized prosthetic or a battery for storage and later uses. The system uses a vertical spring mass system that will move vertically up and down. This movement will be the drive force to rotate the rotor of the generator or to move the cylindrical rod inside the LVDT sensor thus generating electricity. The spring mass system moves when it is subjected with external force, breaking its equilibrium state. The external force is caused by the displacement of center of mass and the heel strike of the foot when the person is walking. Among the various ways to harvest energy through human locomotion, the limb movement generates most energy compared to body heat and heartbeat methods. Therefore, this research implements the limb movement and electromagnetic induction generator properties/Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) properties and integrate into a system.