Japanese Company Develops Electricity-Generating Shoes

Japanese telecommunications company NTT claims that it is developing shoes that generate electricity upon movement. The shoes generate 1.2 watts of electricity— enough to power an iPod forever if the wearer doesn’t stop walking.

Unfortunately, the shoes are not capable of storing energy, but they are certainly good for juicing up gadgets on the go. NTT ultimately hopes to improve the shoes’ capacity to 3 watts.

Unlike M2E’s recently announced kinetic energy charger, NTT’s shoes are powered by small turbines. Each shoe has a small generator attached to the water-filled sole, which spins a small turbine and generate power each time the wearer takes a step.

NTT plans to release its product as early as 2010— hopefully the shoes will look a little more appealing by then.

Photo credit: PhysOrg