Edit: people were getting confused about which quote was for what, so I added dividers and titles to separate it all better. Sorry for the confusion.
Kinetic Tiles
Many years ago now, I was watching an NHK (a Japanese broadcaster) program about how kinetic energy was going to be utilized in the busiest stations in Japan. The theory was simple; as people walk over a mat, their steps would produce electricity to help power the station. In any other station it might not work, but in a station that typically has 1.57 million passengers per day, that is a lot of people power.
Since then, there have been many companies attempting to utilize kinetic energy, with the biggest company likely being “Pavegen.” They have their system in certain city sidewalks, airports, and even under sports turfs.
“The downward force drives an energy-storing flywheel inside the tile, which spins to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction. It’s like a generator — only instead of spinning a turbine with wind, water, or coal, it’s spinning a flywheel with footsteps.” Grist
More Info On Kinetic Pavement:
Kinetic Shoes
If tiles are not unique enough for you, that same tech can be used in shoes.
“The researchers say that this method can produce a lot of watts relative to the surface area of the generator, with the proof-of-concept device generating around 10 watts per square meter in early experiments. They claim that theoretical estimates indicate up to 10 kW might be possible.” NewsAtlas
More Info On Kinetic Shoes:
More work needs to be done to make kinetic energy more efficient, but there is just something fascinating to me about power generation that can fit seamlessly into our world without us noticing.
No! Do not take energy out of my walking! Come on!
These people need to hike over some dry sand before they try to push these into my neighborhood.
Yeah, won’t this just make people’s feet tired, causing them to either walk less or eat more?
If the latter, it would be more efficient to burn the extra food like coal (but renewable) to generate electricity directly.