Energy-harvesting tile incorporating an origami coupling mechanism

We present the design and evaluation of a simple, compact and efficient electromagnetic energy harvesting tile that can be used to harness energy from footsteps. The proposed harvester incorporates a translational–rotational origami-inspired coupling mechanism to transform the axial loads exerted by human footsteps into a localized rotation of an electromagnetic generator. The coupling mechanism employs a non-rigid tunable Kresling spring, the restorative behaviour of which is tunable to maximize energy transduction from the applied load to the generator. A computational model is developed to optimize the design parameters of the mechanism, which are then utilized to fabricate a prototype of the energy harvester. The tile is tested under loading conditions that mimic a human step, where it is demonstrated that it is capable of generating 4.18 W of electrical power per step with a surface power density of 2609 μW cm −2 . This article is part of the theme issue ‘Origami/Kirigami-inspired structures: from fundamentals to applications’.