A two year study led by the University of Leeds in the UK aims to develop a system that can harness kinetic energy from marching soldiers.

The $1.5 million plan will focus on finding a way to convert human energy into usable power for military field applications. It is part of the larger “battery-free soldier” project that also includes development of solar and body heat-harvesting technologies for the military.

Soldiers carry around electronic equipment such as large flashlights, and power sources in the form of batteries can weigh as much as 10 kilograms of a foot soldier’s usual 75 kilogram pack. Clearly, having a power source they can carry around will be beneficial. Research leader Professor Andrew Bell of Leeds says,

“As well as the obvious green issue of using so many batteries, [the system] could also reduce a soldier’s pack weight by around 15 per cent. And this technology could potentially have lots of applications in civvy street too.”

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Stopping for cheeseburgers to bring new energy to New Jersey drive-thru

On the same day that Coulomb Technologies announced it would be rolling out an electric vehicle charging station at a McDonald’s in Cary, N.C., a Burger King franchise in New Jersey said it would be testing speed bumps that harness kinetic energy in the location’s busy drive-thru lane.

If the kinetic energy generated by moving vehicles was captured by New Energy Technology’s MotionPower speed bumps twice per day, then it could produce enough electricity to power over half a million homes each day, according to company officials.

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Just looking at this mock-up of a human-powered river gym makes me seasick, but architect Mitchell Joachim and personal trainer Douglas Joachim’s design won third place in New York Magazine’s “Create a Gym Contest”. The gym’s creators explain, “Often the average urbanite exercising at the gym performs controlled repetitive single plane movements using industrial fitness equipment. All of this energy is summarily dissipated and ultimately exhausted for the sake of a single individual’s wellbeing. Other potentials exist to harness this vast human expenditure of caloric energy. Why not have the simple transfer of this workout vigor supply New York with needed supplemental transport and amenities?”

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Anyone who has been caught in a torrential downpour knows that rain can be pretty powerful stuff. That’s why the Lightdrops umbrella prototype is so ingenious. The polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) umbrella features a “collective membrane” that powers its LED lights with energy from the rain.

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Japanese telecommunications company NTT claims that it is developing shoes that generate electricity upon movement. The shoes generate 1.2 watts of electricity— enough to power an iPod forever if the wearer doesn’t stop walking.

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Most small renewable energy chargers rely on solar power or more recently, kinetic energy. The Mini Kin takes a different approach—wind power.

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Shouldn’t a strenuous run provide something more than a rush of endorphins? Something, perhaps, like power to charge your cell phone? M2E Power agrees. The company, which works with kinetic motion technology, announced plans today to release a portable charger for mobile devices sometime next summer.

The charger, which is the size of a pack of cards, derives power from cumulative motion from walking, jogging, cycling, or driving. Six hours of motion provides 30 to 60 minutes of extra power. And at $25 to $40, M2E’s catch-all charger won’t break the bank.

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