A Study on Mechanical Power Transmission of the Human Body Using an All Four Limbs Based Energy Harvester

Abstract

Four limbs-based energy harvester is an equipment that converts human mechanical power into electrical power using a DC generator-based electrical system. The study was conducted to identify the human mechanical power transmission of a four limbs-based energy harvester and to determine the minimum, maximum and average electrical power, a person can generate through upper and lower limbs of the body. This paper discusses the working principle of the energy harvester, the power generation of the lower limbs, the power generation of the upper limbs, the instantaneous change in power with phase difference in hand and leg crank angles and the average change in power with crank angular frequency. The variation in input power given by the four limbs (hands and legs) of a person and the variation in electrical power output with time are analyzed using simulation models, while changing the pedal cycle time and phase difference between the hand pedal crank and the leg pedal crank. The results of the study is used to determine how much power a person can generate with their upper and lower limbs separately and how to achieve maximum stable electrical power output from the all four limbs-based energy harvester.