Eco Factor: Kinetic energy-recycling prosthetic foot.
On an average, walking on a prosthetic foot requires 23 percent more energy that walking on a natural foot. Researchers at the University of Michigan are trying to make it easy for amputees to move around normally by recycling the kinetic energy generated while walking.
Normally energy is dissipated during walking and the ankle restores the energy during push-off, but typical prosthetic feet cannot mimic the ankle’s push-off, making the limbs feel heavy. The newly developed prototype mimics the ankle by recycling kinetic energy and storing it in a small battery, which is then used to power a simple motor that consumes less than one watt of power. The prototype is currently being tested at the Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Via: Inhabitat