26!january!2015! dr.!andrew!rawicz ...whitmore/courses/ensc305/projects/2015/2prop.pdf ·...

School of Engineering Sciences – Burnaby BC [email protected]

26 January 2015 Dr. Andrew Rawicz School Of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Canada V5A 1S6 Re: ENSC 440/305W Project Proposal for an Energy Harvesting and Storing System Dear Dr. Rawicz, Please find an enclosed copy of our proposal for an Energy Harvesting and Storing System. The goal of POWER WALKER is to produce a renewable source of energy by means of walking. This document highlights the features of our product and how its use can minimize the problem of energy scarcity. Here, you will find a detailed analysis of the risks and benefits of our product, along with the associated costs, scope, timeline, market analysis and competition and our company profile. Our team of senior engineers who are dedicated to this project includes: Pouya Aein, Shelvin Chandra, Vani Choubey, Tommy Lu, Shervin Mirsaeidi and Arshit Singh. We are ecstatic to work on this project and hope you share the same enthusiasm. We look forward to your support over the term and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via email at [email protected]. Sincerely,

Arshit Singh Chief Operating Officer Power Walker Enclosed: Proposal for an Energy Harvesting and Storing System

Harnessing Human Nature to Human Needs

COPYRIGHT © 2015 POWER WALKER

A Proposal for Energy Harvesting and Storing System



Executive Summary

“Invention is the most important product of man's creative brain. The ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the material world, the

harnessing of human nature to human needs.” – Nikola Tesla

Today, the need for portable off – grid energy is critical. Almost 1.4 billion people are living without electricity [1]. This energy poverty has left millions of houses unpowered and dark. What if there is a device that is not intrusive, yet, has enough stored energy to power an LED strong enough to light up your entire room. What if this said device could help one recharge their phone when it is completely drained of its battery?

You might think of various devices such as alkaline batteries, portable power banks, generator, etc. However, the flaw in these devices is that they are not self-‐sustaining sources. These devices are either not portable or have to be charged or fed other sources of energy. This is a cause of concern for someone living in a third world country that clocks in almost 16 hours a day working. Importability and energy expense is not an option for someone who struggles to eat three meals a day.

Our device SolexPRO is the answer to these aforementioned issues. At Power Walker, we plan to implement a self-‐sustaining energy harvesting system. This system will convert translational kinetic energy, such as walking, and transform it into electrical energy. The electrical energy produced will then be stored in a high capacity battery.

Power Walker consists of six senior engineering students specializing in electronics, computer and systems engineering. Together we encompass a well-‐rounded team with a wide area of skills and knowledge in analog, digital and software design, as well as in administrative and organizational work. Two different prototypes will be built to judge to output power efficiency. This approach will be sufficient to demonstrate all the necessary functionality and it will also enable quick changes to the design, if necessary. Based on the results our final product will be built.

Our project should take approximately 11 weeks to complete. We plan to have our final design completed by April 1st, 2015. According to our estimates, the project budget is approximately $650. We are expecting to get funding from ESSEF and other organizations that may be interested in investing in our project. Our goal is to provide sufficient energy to areas where electric resources are scarce, without compromising sustainability.



Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 3

Tables of Figures and Tables............................................................................................................. 6

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 6

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. 6

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Scope ................................................................................................................................................ 8

System Overview .............................................................................................................................. 8

SolexPRO E .................................................................................................................................... 8

SolexPRO F .................................................................................................................................... 9

Risk and Benefits ............................................................................................................................ 10

Benefit ........................................................................................................................................ 10

Risks ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Market Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 10

Existing Solutions ............................................................................................................................ 11

Inductive Energy & Swing Harvester Technology ....................................................................... 11

Reverse-‐Electrowetting Technology ........................................................................................... 12

InStep Nanopower with Microfluidic Device .............................................................................. 12

Shoe Insert with Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters ...................................................................... 13

Pizzicato Excitation Technology .................................................................................................. 13

Budget and Funding ....................................................................................................................... 14

Budget ........................................................................................................................................ 14

Funding ....................................................................................................................................... 16

Timeline .......................................................................................................................................... 16

Company Profile ............................................................................................................................. 17

Tommy Lu – CEO ......................................................................................................................... 17

Shelvin Chandra – CTO ............................................................................................................... 17

Vani Choubey – CFO ................................................................................................................... 17

Pouya Aein – CIO ........................................................................................................................ 17

Shervin Mirsaeidi – CTO ............................................................................................................. 18



Arshit Singh – COO ..................................................................................................................... 18

References ...................................................................................................................................... 19



Tables of Figures and Tables

List of Figures Figure 1: Harvesting Energy using Electromagnetic Induction……………………………………………………8 Figure 2: Harvesting Energy by using Fluids and Micro-‐turbines………………………………………………..9 Figure 3: Harvesting Energy using Inductive & Swing Harvester Technology…………………………….12 Figure 4: Harvesting Energy using Reverse-‐Electrowetting Technology………………………………..….12 Figure 5: Harvesting Energy using Microfluidic Device……………………………………………………………..13 Figure 6: Harvesting Energy using Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters………………………………………….13 Figure 7: Harvesting Energy using Pizzicato Excitation Technology…………………………………………..14 Figure 8: Estimated Gant Chart………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Figure 9: Milestone Dates…………………………………………………………………………………………….............16

List of Tables Table 1: Cost breakdown for items used specifically used for SolexPRO F .................................. 14 Table 2: Cost breakdown for items used specifically used for SolexPRO E .................................. 15 Table 3: Cost breakdown for items used for both the prototypes ............................................... 15



Introduction

It was estimated that in 2012 approximately 1.4 billion people were living without electricity across the planet. This significant figure happens to be approximately 18% of the world’s population. Interestingly, 22% percent of the people without electricity happened to be living in developing countries [1]. Therefore, it is evident that the need for energy is rapidly growing more than ever. Energy is harvested and converted from different sources that vary from chemical reaction to kinetic motion. For instance, daily activities such as walking, running and playing sports generate a lot of kinetic motion that could be used as a free source of energy harvesting. Therefore, harvesting energy from everyday errands activities could be a potential solution to increasing demand for energy.

At Power Walkers, the goal is to go above and beyond in helping to make the world a better place by providing a green source of energy to the ones most in need. Our products SolexPRO F and SolexPRO E convert kinetic energy, caused by the walking motion, into electrical energy. After the first feasibility study on the product, our company concluded to design and manufacture two possible versions of it. Based on these two versions, the product with the most effective durability, efficiency, safety and user satisfaction will be chosen for the final production.

SolexPRO F is based on fluid mechanical system that is designed with a pump inside the sole of a shoe. After each successive step, the fluid will be pumped through the tube, turning a small turbine, which will in turn create an electric current. The energy created by this electric current will then be stored.

The second product, SolexPRO E, will involve a solenoid and a magnet. After each successive step, the magnet will move inside the solenoid, which will result in the production of an electric current. The energy produced by the electric current generated will then be stored.

The proposal will present an overview of the system, risk benefits, market competition, cost analysis and project timeline.



Scope

As mentioned above, we are proposing two prototypes, which are to be designed and built. Subsequently, it will be determined which product is to be available to the market based on its superiority in efficiency, cost, durability and safety.

System Overview

Energy is harvested by implementing a mechanism inside a pair of shoes and to harvest the energy when the user walks/runs. There are two approaches taken to convert the kinetic energy to electricity: use of electromagnetic induction and micro turbine system.

SolexPRO E

There are a variety of methods used to convert energy when a person walks/runs. With that, we decided to use a unique approach similar to those used in shaking flashlights to harvest energy from kinetic to electricity. This is done by implementing magnets and coil inside a pair of shoes as demonstrated in Figure 1. This mechanism produces an electric current, which is based on Faraday’s law of induction that is the basic law of electromagnetic induction. As illustrated in figure 1 when a person walks, the magnets will move up and down inside a coil, which will result in a current that can be stored in a battery placed inside the sole.

Figure 1: Harvesting Energy using Electromagnetic Induction



SolexPRO F

Our second product, SolexPRO F, design is implemented by using simple pressure to pump fluids that turn multiple micro-‐turbines which will result in a current that will be stored in the battery. As shown in figure 2, the heel of the shoes has multiple micro-‐turbines, which are turned using fluids. Furthermore, the fluids move by following Bernoulli’s principle, which states that the flow of an ideal non-‐conducting fluid is an increase of the speed of the fluid that happens simultaneously with the decrease in pressure or decrease in the fluid’s potential energy [2].

Figure 2: Harvesting Energy by using Fluids and Micro-‐turbines



Risk and Benefits

Benefit

There are risks and benefits associated with every product and services, such as daily electronics (i.e. Cellphones), automobiles and medications. However, in most cases, the benefits outweigh the costs. Therefore, it is beneficial for the user to use the product and services even with the associated risks.

At Power Walkers, we aim to provide a safe, durable and comfortable product that benefits the customers on a daily basis. These benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:

● Harvesting green energy ● On the go emergency power source ● Promoting a healthy and active lifestyle by motivating customers to engage in daily

activities such as walking/jogging ● GPS tracking ● Biomedical applications (i.e. body fat percentages)

Risks

While there are minimal risks associated with our product, negative outcomes are controlled to have minimal effects/impacts towards user, in the event that a problem or risk takes place. For example, there are no risks of getting electrocuted or burned, as the system does not provide enough power to initiate those incidents. Furthermore, the only risk associated with our product is corrosion of insole caused by excessive use that may expose the internal system and harm or injure the customer’s feet. To further minimize this type of injury to the user, it is recommended that the product be used only for its duration of lifetime.

Market Analysis

Power generating shoes have a wide range of applications. The energy generated by the shoes is stored in a battery, which can power countless devices such as cellphones, smart watches, flashlights, radios, etc. According to GSMA’s real-‐time tracker [3], there are approximately 7.3 billion mobile devices in the world today, many of which are owned in the developing world. Here, power may not be readily available and, therefore, power generated from walking would be greatly beneficial. This will allow communities that do not have adequate energy resources to improve their quality of life.



Another application for our power shoes is in the military. “The explosion in electronic gear in the modern military, from radios and GPS equipment to night-‐vision goggles, means a typical soldier may carry a dozen devices and 70 batteries on a three-‐day patrol. That adds weight—16 pounds or so—to already-‐overburdened warriors. A typical soldier or Marine today carries more than 100 pounds on his back, roughly twice as much as dogfaces did in World War II. A typical infantry company of roughly 150 soldiers requires more than 6,600 batteries, weighing more than 1,400 pounds, for 72 hours of operation. All that weight slows down soldiers on foot, tethers them to constant resupply, and contributes to a rash of muscular and skeletal injuries caused by excessively heavy packs.” [3]. With a renewable energy source, soldiers could reduce or even eliminate the number of batteries carried.

Our power generating shoes can also be used in everyday recreation, for the hiker that needs emergency power or the student that needs a quick cellphone charge to last the day. For instance, in order to jump-‐start a car, several pairs of insulation shoes will generate enough energy to perform this task and the need to provide a second car and multiple cables will no longer be necessary. In other words, shoes may be the potential remedy to any event or situation that requires emergency power. Imagine jumpstarting a car by using several pairs of insulation shoes, the possibilities are endless. In short, areas where emergency power is required, our shoes can be a potentially remedy. Lastly, our shoes may be used in disaster relief situations where the need to keep constant communication is vital, allowing victims to stay in touch with loved ones and rescuers to coordinate with the outside world.

Exist ing Solutions

Despite there being a vast interest by many researchers in harnessing the energy dissipated by walking, there is no product commercially available in the market thus far. However, there are a few innovations that are on the verge of launching. A market research for available solutions to solve our proposed problem outlined the following:

Inductive Energy & Swing Harvester Technology Researchers from HSG-‐IMIT in Villingen-‐Schwenningen, Germany have equipped sneakers with “Inductive Energy Harvesters” in the soles of the shoes. With each step a person takes, they generate power from the motion created between the magnets and coils in the sole of the shoe. Additionally, a separate "Swing Harvester" harnesses the energy generated by the walking or gait action. Even with both harvesters combined, this design does not yet provide enough energy to power major handheld devices. [4]



Figure 3: Harvesting Energy using Inductive & Swing Harvester Technology

Reverse-‐Electrowetting Technology Engineers from the University of Wisconsin have created a device based on a physical phenomenon called reverse-‐electrowetting. In the shoe, there are two flexible plastic bladders, one under the heel and the other under the toe. The bladders are filled with a mixture of oil and water and connected by a thin, snaking tube. The tube is lined with a thin film of electrodes, and as the liquid slides back and forth, the electrodes charge-‐electrowetting in reverse. A small battery stores the energy, and it can be accessed by way of a micro-‐USB port on the heel of the shoe. [5]

Figure 4: Harvesting Energy using Reverse-‐Electrowetting Technology

InStep Nanopower with Microfluidic Device InStep NanoPower has developed an inexpensive simple high-‐power energy harvester capable of converting mechanical energy to electrical power providing up to 20 Watts. The mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy by a microfluidic device through the interaction of thousands of liquid micro-‐droplets with a nanostructured substrate. [6]



Figure 5: Harvesting Energy using Microfluidic Device

Shoe Insert with Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters SolePower is an energy harvesting company that has developed a patent-‐pending technology that captures the energy in a footstep and converts it into usable electrical power. The mechanism is embedded within a waterproof insole that can be slipped into any shoe. The power generated is stored in an external battery and accessed via micro or mini USB ports. The user does not need to remove the insole, and does not need to attach their electronic devices to their footwear. [7]

Figure 6: Harvesting Energy using Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

Pizzicato Excitation Technology To address the issue of piezoelectric energy harvesters having a very narrow operational frequency range resulting in poor power in real operational environment, University of Exeter has developed a frequency-‐up conversion mechanism using a novel “Pizzicato excitation” and a force amplification mechanism using an improved cymbal transducer to ensure piezo-‐harvester



to be capable of working at a wide range of vibration frequency and increase the efficiency of piezo-‐harvesters for low frequency. The results have shown that they are able to harvest 2.2~2.5mJ/step at an average walking speed of 1 step/second or 3 mph and to power a customer developed wireless sensor node at every 1.1 second. [8]

Figure 7: Harvesting Energy using Pizzicato Excitation Technology

Budget and Funding

Budget Table 1 and Table 2 outline the list of items and associated expenses that are specifically used for SolexPRO F or SolexPRO E. After developing prototypes, we will be able to choose the method that creates a product that is the most cost effective, efficient, durable and requires less space.

Equipment List Estimated Unit Cost Units

PEX tubes [9] $50 1

Micro-‐hydro water turbines [10] $15 3

Table 1: Cost breakdown for items used specifically used for SolexPRO F




Solenoids [11] $5 10

Magnets (1/2’’ in diameter and ½”in length) [12]

$3.25/piece 10

Magnets (1/2’’in diameter and 3/4”in length) [13]

$2/piece 10

Spring [14] $12 10

AC motor [15] $50 1

Rectifier [16] $5 2

Table 2: Cost breakdown for items used specifically used for SolexPRO E

There will be other equipment, which both the prototypes will be using. The following table outlines the list of required items and the expenses associated with them.


Supercapacitors [17] $15 4

Dr. Scholls’ insoles [18] $25 2

Shoes [19] $100 1

Flashlight [20] $20 2

USB associated parts [21] $20 1

Table 3: Cost breakdown for items used for both the prototypes

On adding up all the estimated cost, we are expecting to spend $647.5. The above tables are subjected to change as more parts might be required, which will depend as we progress through our project.



We are planning to buy all the products locally or ordering it online in order to keep the cost minimum.

Funding So far, we have applied for funding from ESSS. We will be contacting Rory Green, Associate Director of Development at SFU, in order to apply for funding from different companies. We believe our product has potential to lure organizations to invest in our project.

Timeline Our estimated time line is projected in the following Gantt chart. It is to be kept in mind that this timeline is subject to change as the project progresses.

Figure 8: Estimated Gant Chart

In the next figure, the milestones associated with our project are shown. These milestones indicate the necessary completion dates for various aspects of the project.

Figure 9: Milestone Dates



Company Profi le

Tommy Lu – CEO Tommy is a fifth year Systems Engineering Student who has worked on various projects throughout his undergraduate career including an air hockey robot, a VGA text editor application and a third-‐order Butterworth Filter. He has strong interpersonal skills, which will be crucial to maintaining a cohesive work environment. In his spare time, Tommy enjoys snowboarding, deep conversations and a good novel.

Shelvin Chandra – CTO Shelvin is a third year Computer Engineering student with knowledge and experience in both hardware and software design and applications. He has programming experience in C\C++, Java, and VHDL. Additionally, he brings to the team his three-‐year experience as a Mechanical Designer where he was involved in different engineering projects, leading some of them and participating as a key team member in others. He is always eager to learn about new technologies and take up the challenge to the next level.

Vani Choubey – CFO Vani is a fourth year Computer Engineering student and president of Women in Engineering Group at SFU. In terms of software skills, she is very well versed with C++ and Ruby on Rails. She also experienced in working with different operating system, such as Ubuntu, Centos, Windows and Mac OSX. In terms of hardware skills, she is adept in working with VHDL, electric circuits and FPGAs. She has loads of experience in working in team. She is friendly, hardworking and always ready to help.

Pouya Aein – CIO Pouya is a fourth year Systems Engineering Student with extensive experience in sustainable energy specifically in Marine and Aerospace industries. He worked as a Systems Engineer at Corvus Energy where he helped to develop sustainable energy source (Industrial Batteries) for hybrid vessels by developing tools and automation techniques to ease off product work flow. In addition, Pouya is familiar with different CAD software and product data management tools used in development and manufacturing industries such as Solidworks, AutoCAD, Simulink, Labview, EPDM, WPDM, LTSpice and NetSuite. You will find Pouya a well-‐spoken person with the ability to prioritize, delegate, motivate and establish instant credibility within a team.



Shervin Mirsaeidi – CTO Shervin is a fourth year Systems Engineering student who has worked on different design projects involving software and hardware components. Some of his projects include AM radio, air hockey robot, tic-‐tac-‐toe board game and bank account management software. He also brings a breath of experience in software engineering, namely Java and SQL programming, bash scripting and testing of enterprise applications. From his experience at BlackBerry and various group design projects at SFU, Shervin has an excellent ability to collaborate with peers and team members to accomplish project goals.

Arshit Singh – COO Arshit is a fourth year Electronics Engineering student who is also pursuing a minor in Business Administration. His academic intellect encompasses a multitude of technical skills that comprise of microprocessor development, advanced circuitry and microelectronic equipment, PLC programming as well as soft skills like a good team player, good listening skills and patience. As a COO, Arshit will be managing the project resources and tasks distribution while making sure the project finishes on time. Arshit is also an avid music enthusiast, likes to read and spend time with the family.



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26!january!2015! dr.!andrew!rawicz ...whitmore/courses/ensc305/projects/2015/2prop.pdf ·...

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