Footstep Power Generation System using Microcontroller

Day by day, the population of the country increased and the requirement of the power is also increased. At the same time the wastage of energy also increased in many ways. So reforming this energy back to usable form is the major solution. As technology is developed and the use of gadgets, electronic devices also increased. Power generation using conservative methods becoming deficient. There is a necessity arises for a different power generation method. At the same time the energy is wasted due to human locomotion and many ways. To overcome this problem, the energy wastage can be converted to usable form using the piezoelectric sensor. This sensor converts the pressure on it to a voltage. So by using this energy saving method, that is the footstep power generation system we are generating power.

Microcontroller based Footstep Power Generation System

This project is used to generate voltage using footstep force. The proposed system works as a medium to generate power using force. This project is very useful in public places like bus stands, theaters, railway stations, shopping malls, etc. So, these systems are placed in public places where people walk and they have to travel on this system to get through the entrance or exists.

Then, these systems may generate voltage on each and every step of a foot. For this purpose, piezoelectric sensor is used in order to measure force, pressure and acceleration by its change into electric signals. This system uses voltmeter for measuring output, led lights, weight measurement system and a battery for better demonstration of the system.

• Whenever force is applied on piezoelectric sensor, then the force is converted into electrical energy.
• In that movement, the output voltage is stored in the battery
• The output voltage which is generated from the sensor is used to drive DC loads
• Here we are using AT89S52 to display the amount of battery get charged.

Block Diagram of Footstep Power Generation System

The main blocks of the footstep power generation system involves the following

• AT89S52 Microcontroller
• Piezoelectric Sensor
• AC Ripple Neutralizer
• Unidirectional Current Controller
• Voltage Sampler
• 16X2 LCD
• Lead Acid Battery
• ADC
• INVERTER

Piezoelectric Sensor

A piezoelectric sensor is an electric device which is used to measure acceleration, pressure, or force to convert them to an electric signal. These sensors are mainly used for process control, quality assurance, research and development in various industries. The applications of this sensor involve, aerospace, medical, nuclear instrumentation, and as a pressure sensor it is used in the touch pad of mobile phones. In the automotive industry, these sensors are used to monitor ignition when developing internal burning engines.

Lead Acid Battery

Lead battery is most commonly used in PV systems due to low cost and easily available everywhere in the world. These batteries are available in both sealed and wet cell batteries. Lead acid batteries have high reliability due to their capability to withstand overcharge, over discharge & shock. The batteries have excellent charge acceptance, low self-discharge and large electrolyte volume. Lead acid batteries Are tested using Computer Aided Design. These applications of these batteries are used in UPS Systems and Inverter and have the skill to perform under dangerous conditions.

AT89S52 Microcontroller

This project uses the AT89S52 Microcontroller and Features of this microcontroller includes 8K bytes ROM, 256 bytes RAM 3) 3 Timers, 32 I/O pins, one Serial port, 8 Interrupt sources Here we are using AT89S52microcontroller to display the amount of battery get charged when we place our footstep on piezoelectric sensor.

Analog to Digital Converter

An ADC (analog-to-digital converter) is a device that converts analog to digital symbols. An analog to digital converter may also offer an isolated measurement. The reverse operation is achieved by a DAC (digital-to-analog converter). Typically, this is an electronic device that alters an analog input like voltage or current to a digital output, which is related to the magnitude of the voltage or current. Nevertheless, some partially electronic devices like rotary encoders, can also be considered as ADCs.

AC Ripple Neutralizer

It is used to remove the ripples from the output of the rectifier and smoothens the o/p of the D.C which is received from the filter, and it is constant until the load and mains voltage is kept constant. Though, if either of the two is varied, then the received D.C. voltage at this point changes. So a regulator is applied at the output stage.

Inverter

An inverter is an electrical device that converts direct current to alternating current; the converted alternating current can be at any required voltage & frequency with the use of applicable control circuits, transformers and switching.

Solid state inverters are used in a wide range of applications because they have no moving parts from small switching power supplies to large electric utility high-voltage direct footstep power generation using piezoelectric material  that transport bulk power. Inverters are used to supply AC power from DC sources like batteries or solar panels. These are classified into two types The modified sine wave inverter’s o/p is similar to a square wave o/p excluding that the o/p goes to 0 V for a time before switching +Ve or -Ve. It is very simple and low cost and is well-suited with various electronic devices, except for sensitive or specialized equipment like laser printers.

Voltage Sampler

Voltage Sampler or sample and hold circuit is an essential analog building block and the applications of voltage sampler includes switched capacitor filters and analog-to-digital converters. The main function of the sample and hold circuit is to sample an analog i/p signal and hold this value over a particular length of time for subsequent processing. Sample and hold circuit is designed using only one capacitor and one MOS transistor. The working of this circuit is straight forward. When CK is high, then the MOS switch will be ON, which in turn permits output voltage to track input voltage. When CK low, then the MOS switch will be OFF.

Unidirectional Current Controller

As term specifies this circuit lets only one direction current flowing. They are diodes and Thyristors. In this project diode (D=1N4007) is used as a unidirectional current controller. The main function of the diode is, it allows the flow of current in only one direction while blocking current in the reverse direction.

16X2 LCD

A 16X2 LCD display is used in the footstep power generation project to display the voltage status. It is also provided with a contrast adjusting pin.

The advantages of Footstep Power Generation System project are: echo-friendly, waste of energy reduction, less maintenance cost, ultra low noise, wide dynamic and temperature range etc. This project is used for street lighting, mobile charging. It can be used in power failure situations. The application areas of this project involve public areas like temples, streets, metros, railway stations.

Thus, this is all about the footstep power generation system using microcontroller which is affordable, economical. This project can be used to drive both AC and DC loads according to the pressure we have applied on the piezoelectric sensor. We hope that you have got a better understanding of this concept. Furthermore, any queries regarding this topic, please give your feedback in the comment section below. Here is a question for you, what are the applications of piezoelectric sensor?