4. Conclusions
We have proposed a novel energy harvesting method that utilizes a bicycle’s weaving motion for
capturing kinetic energy. The feasibility of the concept was verified by experimental results which
showed that more than 6.6 mW power can be generated under normal bicycling conditions. This
energy harvesting approach can generate electric power even during the uphill riding without
significant increase in mechanical work for user, which is a major differentiating factor from other
approaches proposed in literature. The weaving motion is a counter-balancing response to the weight
concentration on each one of the pedals for effective pedaling. Therefore, harvesting energy from
weaving motion turns out to increase the economy of human cycling by helping efficient usage of
human power [8,21]. Table 3 shows the average power consumption of typical portable electronic
Sensors 2012, 12 10257
devices. Recent advances in ultra-low power electronics and smart power management technology has
brought their power requirements below 15 mW [22]. This implies that the energy harvester developed
in this study can supply the power for most of these portable electronic devices