NTT develops shoes that generate electricity

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Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp has developed prototype shoes with a device that generates electricity when the wearer walks. NTT officials said each shoe is equipped with two tiny water tanks positioned below the toe and heel.

The tanks are connected by a pipe, and with each step, pressure forces water from one tank to another through the pipe. Water flows created in this way power a turbine to generate electricity, the officials said.

The electricity can be stored in a battery or accessed through a cable. The power output of the prototype is small and only enough to power a digital music player, according to the officials.

NTT, which is aiming to put the power generation system into practical use as early as in 2010, hopes to improve the device so that it can generate electricity sufficient to operate a mobile phone that consumes twice as much power as that used by a digital music player, the officials said.

The company also hopes to reduce the size of the power generation unit, the officials said.

The price of shoes equipped with the power unit would likely be only a few thousand yen higher than the average shoes price, according to the officials.

NTT also plans to collaborate with a shoes maker to improve the safety, durability and design of the power-generating shoes before it puts them on the market.