Japanese Experiment With Power Generating Floor

Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 12, 2008--East Japan Railway Company will install piezoelectric elements in the floors at ticket gates and other areas of Tokyo Station to test a system that generates power using the energy created by passengers passing through the gates.

Experiments on this "power generating floor" have been carried out since fiscal 2006. The company plans to increase the generating capacity of one passenger walking through the gate by about tenfold over the result achieved in 2007. Also, it aims to maintain a stable generating capacity throughout the test period. The test will start Dec 10, 2008.

The generating capacity and durability of the system were enhanced by improving (1) the shape and layout of the piezoelectric element, (2) the mechanism that transmits the pressure created by walking to each piezoelectric element and (3) the electric circuits, the company said.

For this experiment, "walkability" was improved by covering the experiment floors with stone tiles similar to those currently used in the station. In the previous experiment, the floors were covered with rubber materials.

The experiment will continue until early February 2009. The "power generating floor," covering the area of about 25 square meters in total, will be installed at seven ticket gates in the Yaesu Kita exit and seven steps of a staircase inside the gate.

JR East expects a generating capacity of total 1,400kW/sec per day.