How Electric Generating Tiles Power Streets and Collect Traffic Data

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Renewable energy sources are great for the environment and for people. They provide a clean neverending source of energy. Some renewable energy sources are also unexpectedly cool and original. Today, we are talking about the process of producing electricity from footsteps.

This type of kinetic energy works through the use of pavegen tiles. Each step taken on a pavegen tile may generate up to 7W of off-grid electricity. How common are they? They have already been implemented in 36 locations throughout the world about 200 times. So, chances are you may have walked on these nearly magical tiles at some point in your life and not have even known it.

The special tiles are also used to make roads more intelligent by using the energy that is generated through footsteps to power street lighting, displays, speakers, and alarms and by also collecting crucial traffic data. They even store the energy they produce during the day for use at night.

Have we piqued your curiosity yet? Do you want to know what is the science, engineering, and technology behind how these pavegen tiles work? Do you want to see them in action as they power up and release energy? In this video, we answer all these questions and more and bring you footage of the tiles.