power to the pothole

 

GenShock is a suspension system that recharges itself on rough roads. Each time your car or truck hits a bump, fluid in the shock absorber is forced through a pump that generates elecricity which can be reused by the vehicle. Harnessing the power of movement is what windmills, hydroelctric dams, and self-powered bike lights are all about. And harnessing the suspension system and braking power of each vehicle on the road is a great idea, if it is actually practical.  Two MIT students have designed a "crowd farm"  for Torino, Italy from which they can harvest electricity. It's essentailly a plaza/shopping area that harvests energy from the movements of people -- walking, jumping, biking -- on the platform and converts that energy into electricity. Brilliant! If it works. You can also collect energy from an individual's movements with devices like this:  

 There are so many other potential sources of kinetic energy to harvest, ranging from dance moves to opening and closing doors. These various sources of electricity could be unified in clusters to form microgrids, which are definitely increasing in importance in the world as our traditional massive grids become more and more difficult to maintain and operate.