JR passengers to generate electricity at train stations
The East Japan Railway Company (JR-East), as part of research aimed at developing more environmentally friendly train stations, is testing an experimental system that produces electricity as people pass through ticket gates. JR claims that this sort of human-powered electricity generation system may provide a portion of the electricity consumed at train stations in the future.
The ticket gate electricity generation system relies on a series of piezo elements embedded in the floor under the ticket gates, which generate electricity from the pressure and vibration they receive as people step on them. When combined with high-efficiency storage systems, the ticket gate generators can serve as a clean source of supplementary power for the train stations. Busy train stations (and those with large numbers of passengers willing to bounce heavily through the gates) will be able to accumulate a relatively large amount of electricity.
JR-East, who worked with Keio University to develop the system, claims that in addition to being put to use as an independent power supply that does not require hardwiring, the system can also be used as a way of measuring the traffic flow through ticket gates.
The system is being tested at the JR-East head office in Shibuya, where it is installed at the entrance to the reception area on the 4th floor. As visitors pass through the gate, a lamp lights up, signifying that electricity has been produced. Testing of the system will continue until August 11.
[Source: Chunichi Shimbun via /.Japan]
[…] Japonske železnice sodelujejo v poizkusnem sistemu, ki med prehodi njihovih potnikov skozi vstopna vrata proizvaja elektriko. Poleg ekološke narave je zadeva uporabna tudi za štetje potnikov. The ticket gate electricity generation system relies on a series of piezo elements embedded in the floor under the ticket gates, which generate electricity from the pressure and vibration they receive as people step on them. When combined with high-efficiency storage systems, the ticket gate generators can serve as a clean source of supplementary power for the train stations. Busy train stations (and those with large numbers of passengers willing to bounce heavily through the gates) will be able to accumulate a relatively large amount of electricity. […]
[…] 15 - Japanese railway generates electricity from passengers Well, you might as well claw something back from the customers, eh? Seriously, this is a good plan, we need more ideas like this. (tags: technology energy ecology gates ticket turnstiles passengers electricity generate Company East Railway Japan) […]
[…] According to Pink Tentacle, JR East is working on an experiment where the ticket gates at the station suck up peoples body energy and use it to power said station. Considering how many tens or hundreds of thousands of people walk through some stations every day, this is probably a really good idea. Not that the consumer is gonna see any of the money saved returned back to us in the form of cheaper tickets, but still, the environmental impact could be pretty substatial. This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006 at 12:51 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. « Yakko’s Nations of the World […]
[…] […]
[…] The East Japan Railway Company is experimenting with ways to make their train stations more environmentally friendly, and have turned to the warm bodies that fill their train seats for part of the solution.They’ve started installing ticket gates that generate electricity as people pass through them, harvesting the vibrations and pressure that results when people walk through the gates. Seems like a good idea to me, although I can think of a few other ways of capturing that energy that might be more productive. I’m looking forward to seeing the results, as well as finding out more information on the type of generation equipment they are using and its efficiency.Testing should last through August 11th, and most indications point to this being a fairly effective manner of getting electricity to where it’s needed. [From Pink Tentacle] […]
[…] JR-East (The East Japan Railway Company) and Keio University is experimenting with human generated electricity in a effort to reduce carbon footprint of their stations. Passengers generate electricity by walking through turnstiles that have been modified to house piezo-electric generators. […]
This just sounds silly. They can’t be generating very much power, and then they waste what little they get with a lamp to show off! I am going to replace my shoe laces with piezoelectric Kynar plastic. Now, everytime I tie my shoes, I can generate power which will charge my cell phone. Just silly.
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[…] En definitiva, el pasajero se convierte en generado de electricidad, en proporciones ínfimas pero, teniendo en cuanta la cantidad de gente que coge el tren cada día en Tokio, todas esas fricciones produciría energía suficiente como para poder propulsar un tren. En el futuro, el pasajero podría ser la principal fuente de energía renovable para el metro. pinktentacle En: Curioso, Lugares del Mundo— August 21, 2006 Califica esta nota […]
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[…] pink tentacle: JR passengers to generate electricity at train stations. […]
[…] Source : http://www.pinktentacle.com/2006/08/jr-passengers-to-generate-electricity-at-train-stations/ […]
[…] Self-sufficient Train Station ticket gates […]