London’s Bird Street is located right off of Oxford Street, a very busy location sporting more than 300 shopping centers. Tapping into the massive hustle and bustle, walking shoppers can now contribute power to the new 107-square-foot Pavegen walkway.
Proclaimed as the “world’s first sustainable smart street,” the path is capable of transforming footsteps into 5 watts of continuous power. The generated kinetic energy converts into electricity, powering street lamps, Bluetooth transmitters, and audio speakers.
Shoppers that choose to walk the eco-friendly path can see how much electricity their steps produce via a smartphone app. In addition, the surrounding audio speakers transmit calming bird sounds, and are only activated once someone steps on the Pavegen panels.
Using the panel’s data transmitters that capture wireless information, the system accurately tracks pedestrian flow metrics. This information will provide peak shopping times and locations, as well as the directional foot traffic and movement patterns throughout the day.
“It’s great to see innovative ‘smart street’ scheme delivered on Bird Street, the concepts and ideas of which could easily be adapted across London,” says Director of City Planning at Transport for London Alex Williams. “I hope we can see further examples of this innovative 21st century thinking in the future as we work to transform Oxford Street and the surrounding area to make it a world-class public space for all.”
This isn’t the only environmentally-conscious London attraction. Across from Bird Street’s energy-harvesting efforts is an Airlab’s CleanAir bench, which removes harmful substances from the air, such as nitrogen dioxide, and transmits clean air from its armrests and sides.
Scroll through the photo gallery below to get a better view of Bird Street’s sustainable Pavegen walkway.
