View/Open - HPS Repository - Arizona State University

28 researchA New Twist on Power WalkingWhitman Investigator Invents Backpack That Empowers Wearersto Generate their Own ElectricityIn an unprecedented breakthrough in the development of portable and renewablehuman-driven energy sources, Lawrence C. Rome, a Whitman Center biomechanicsexpert who studies how muscle moves skeletons in fish and frogs, has invented abackpack that gives new meaning to the term power walking.In a paper published in the September 9, 2005, issue of Science, Rome and three colleaguesdescribed the mechanics of, and physics behind, the Suspended-load Backpack, a pieceof gear that will one day enable field scientists, hikers, explorers, soldiers, and disasterworkers to convert mechanical energy generated by walking with a heavy load on theirbacks into electricity.By carrying a load weighing from 44 to 84 pounds (20 to 38 kg), backpack testers wereable to generate up to 7.4 Watts—more than enough electricity to simultaneously poweran MP3 player, a PDA, night vision goggles, a handheld GPS, a CMOS image decoder, aGSM terminal in talk mode, and Bluetooth. The electricity can be used while it is beinggenerated, or it can be stored in a lightweight rechargeable battery for later use, greatlyreducing the need to haul and use heavy replacement batteries.“The need for electronic devices in remote areas is an increasing reality these days,”says Rome, a University of Pennsylvania biology professor who comes to the MBL everysummer to study how fish muscle is designed on a biophysical level. “Throughout