Design and 3-D Printing of a Hiking Shoe Sole Embedded With a Thermoelectric Generator for Energy Harvesting

Hiking as a physical activity has many benefits for physical and mental health. Although it has many benefits, hiking can also be dangerous and cause death. Hiking shoes, as one of the hiking equipment, can be used as an energy device by combining a thermoelectric generator (TEG) on the shoe soles. The temperature differences between the cold mountains and the hot hiker’s feet are used for a TEG to generate electrical energy from heat. In this study, we present five prototypes of shoe soles for fabrication using a 3D printer to demonstrate the thermoelectric performance. In the 3D printing process, using TPU material as the soft sole material directly allows the creation of cavities for TEG and other complex shapes in shoe soles. The experimental results show that the TEG-embedded hiking shoes generated a significant electrical voltage due to the temperature difference (ΔT) between the hot and cold sides. In the optimal prototype, it generated the highest voltage of ~92 mV and power of ~0.017 mW as ΔT = ~36°C. It is expected that the TEG performance could be improved for practical application by reducing thermal resistance.