Abstract
Technological innovation has increased the global demand for electrical power and energy. Accordingly, energy harvesting has become a research area of primary interest for the scientific community and companies because it constitutes a sustainable way to collect energy from various sources. In particular, kinetic energy generated from human walking or vehicle movements on smart energy floors represents a promising research topic. This paper aims to analyze the state-of-art of smart energy harvesting floors to determine the best solution to feed a lighting system and charging columns. In particular, the fundamentals of the main harvesting mechanisms applicable in this field (i.e., piezoelectric, electromagnetic, triboelectric, and relative hybrids) are discussed. Moreover, an overview of scientific works related to energy harvesting floors is presented, focusing on the architectures of the developed tiles, the transduction mechanism, and the output performances. Finally, a survey of the commercial energy harvesting floors proposed by companies and startups is reported. From the carried-out analysis, we concluded that the piezoelectric transduction mechanism represents the optimal solution for designing smart energy floors, given their compactness, high efficiency, and absence of moving parts.
Highlights
Energy harvesting is a research area of great interest for the scientific community and the R&D departments
The piezoelectric charge coefficient dij is defined as a third-order tensor, representable as a 3 × 6 matrix, correlating the charge moved for unit area, expressed in C/m2, with the applied stress T
The first is the most widespread, but times more efficient thanlever the lever method the lever system has the benefit of amplifying surface motion, but the increase in motion comes at the expense of force
Summary
Energy harvesting is a research area of great interest for the scientific community and the R&D departments. Vizzari et al investigated the main energy harvesting technologies applicable to smart pavements, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, providing useful insights for future optimization They focused on thermal and photovoltaic harvesting methods applied to pavements or roadways, using solar cells or thermal-solar systems covered by a semi-transparent protective layer. In [14], the authors analysed the main key issues in energy harvesting floors, determining the best transduction mechanism for Malaysian operative conditions They investigated both photovoltaic, thermoelectric, geothermic, and piezoelectric harvesting technologies, comparing them from the point of view of efficiency, cost and side effects. Their application’s physical concepts and limits are described, and materials and useful devices for designing innovative smart tiles are proposed.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
