Kovai student shows a bright way to stay healthy

Sahaana Venkat, a third year B.E (Mechatronics engineering) student at Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore has come up with a project, which converts pressure from the legs during walking, to electrical energy, to illuminate street lights.

Speaking to DT Next while showcasing her project at Shaastra, the annual technical festival at IIT-Madras on Saturday, Sahaana said that to produce electricity the country depends on natural resources like water and coal, which are depleted daily. “I want to help the country generate electricity without using natural resources using alternate energy. I came up with the idea to generate electricity using piezoelectric transducers on footpaths to generate electricity,” she said. 

She says a sheet of Piezoelectric transducers can be spread on a foot path where people walk near main roads, where power is generated free. The young innovator uses Piezoelectric transducer to convert leg pressure (mechanical energy) to electricity (electrical energy) to store it in a battery. 

According to the young innovator, this technology was used in some parts of the US. But for a country like India this could be boon for places which enjoy huge footfalls. 

She spent about Rs 5,000 to develop the project’s miniature version. 

Meanwhile, day one of Shaastra saw several students from various parts of the country throng IIT, Madras to either participate in events or look at various stalls set up in the event. 

Shaastra organisers had lined up host of events to cater to different talent. 

This year students are attempting two records for the Guinness World Book of Records—Shaastra Cube Open and autonomous line following hovercrafts on January 23 and 26 respectively.