FOOTelectriCITY
Campaigns:Help Cyprus find its direction while bringing your ideas to life!
Proposal code: Pusula / Ππούσουλας-2020-05-119
People are wondering what the next step of renewable energy is. The answer might be right under our feet.
Walking not only burns a lot of calories but also generates electricity!!
Our idea and vision are very simple, we want to make Cyprus a better place. We want to be pioneers and with our idea and concept we want to start the process of creating the first smart cities in Cyprus. What is the most common thing people do every day? Walk.
So here is our idea we want to power up Cyprus with our footsteps. Basically, we want to replace pavements and pedestrian areas floors with new purposed-built tiles that can collect the kinetic energy from our footsteps and turn it into electricity. Our idea can promote circular economy, which respect the boundaries in order to maintain the life support systems in the process. We can encourage people walk more and save energy, with this way we can power up our communities and cities.
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Do we really need this in our lifestyle?
The answer is very simple, YES. We need to rethink new ways to generate electricity that won’t harm our environment and face our everyday struggles. Our idea could work well where there are lots of people walking, so a city environment – subways, airports, malls, universities, schools even stadiums. This new flooring tech will have many benefits in our life and will meet our real needs. First of all, we can generate electricity from a harmless way to out environment. It will be the starting process from creating the first smart cities in Cyprus. Economically speaking, we can soften the electricity bills because many parts in our cities will work with the electricity that our footsteps generate. Our technology will enable people to directly engage with clean energy, to increase their understanding of sustainability issues, and to generate useful off-grid energy. This combination of physical interactivity and rich data will help to bring smart cities to life. Another key aspect of our flooring system is its data collection. The tiles will be fitted with wireless sensors that transmit data on pedestrian movement across installation sites. This information can be used to map foot traffic and peak pedestrian flows, allowing for a real-time understanding of movement. Smart cities are about seamless connectivity and mobility between people within that city. Sensor networks will allow people to get a real-time insight into how a city is performing, and this feeds into tracks and transportation links that make it a lot easier for people to get around. What we will offer is a people power solution, a decentralized power solution and also a data hub that can help cities better understand how their people are moving and behaving in those urban environments.
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Our plan
Our initial plan is to install the technology at busy crossing points and places where people meet in the center of cities, so people and the community can understand the benefits and see quick results. Every year in Cyprus we welcome millions of tourists, thus we must take advantage of that and install our flooring tech system to busy tourists areas. So it will be great idea to place this new special tiles in airports and ports. Moreover, we can promote our idea to universities in Cyprus to make their own flooring system as projects.
Many countries across the world started to install this flooring system. For example, at Heathrow airport in London, at University of Birmingham in UK, at Abu Dhabi airport in UAE and in other places in Romania, Mexico, Bangkok and Hongkong. Furthermore, football stadiums in Brazil and Nigeria have already established this technology and turn football into electricity to cover the stadium’s electrical needs. Thus this system is not something new, it’s already working across the world and it’s about time to come to Cyprus.
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Our team
We had this idea, because we are 2 young people concerned about the commons of our community and our future. Currently we both study Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering in Greece and we are always trying to create and achieve something big and innovative. We are passionate about the world and we have many ideas for a better Cyprus.