physics

Pavegen

Pavegen is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pavegen rather than just read about it. In short: Pavegen Systems is a UK technology company that developed interactive floor tiles to convert footsteps into small amounts of electrical energy, data insights, and engagement points for global brands, businesses, and governments. The company was founded in 2009 by Laurence Kemball-Cook.

Key takeaways

Pavegen belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pavegen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pavegen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pavegen Systems is a UK technology company that developed interactive floor tiles to convert footsteps into small amounts of electrical energy, data insights, and engagement points for global brands, businesses, and governments. The company was founded in 2009 by Laurence Kemball-Cook.

History Pavegen Systems was founded in 2009 by Laurence Kemball-Cook. Cook, a graduate in Industrial Technology and Design from Loughborough University, took on a university placement with E.ON, and proposed using footfall as a potential power source. The development of the first prototype of the Pavegen flooring tile was funded by a Royal Society of Arts International Design Directions prize. The tile that converts kinetic energy from footsteps into electricity, while collecting data about walking traffic patterns. The first generation tile was made from recycled polymer, with the top surface made from recycled truck tires. Power is generated when a footfall compresses the slab by about 5 mm (0.2 in). The exact technology is a secret, but PaveGen officials have said it involves electromagnetic induction by copper coils and magnets. Pavegen says each pedestrian generates enough to run an LED street lamp for 30 seconds. The technology was developed by Pavegen founder Laurence Kemball-Cook. An improved tile was developed in 2016, which according to the company improved energy conversion by 'about 20 times'. The amount of energy generated has been criticised, with one calculation claiming that walking for 4 hours on PaveGen paving would generate 0.02% of the average European's energy needs. It has been suggested that the technology's strength rests in its ability to track volume and direction of traffic flow, thus providing useful metrics in a range of scenarios. Among other installations, the slabs have been laid at London's West Ham Underground station for the 2012 Olympic Games. In April 2013, a demonstration installation with Schneider Electric harvested energy from the runners in the Paris Marathon. PaveGen has also put these tiles on a public soccer field in Rio de Janeiro to allow play after sunset. A study of a central building at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, suggested that if pavers covered the 3.1% of the floor that sees the most foot traffic, it would generate an estimated 1.1 megawatt-hour per year, about 0.5% of the building's energy needs. In 2012, Pavegen raised £350,000 through London Business Angels, which helped the company create a tangible business. In 2015, the company raised £1.9m through the Crowdcube platform, allowing them to gain 1500 investors and valued the company at about £17m. In 2015, Kemball-Cook acts as CEO of the company, For his invention, he was chosen as Businessman of the Year at the PEA Awards, and presented with a Shell LiveWIREGrand Ideas Award. He also was named as honorary Enterprise and Innovation Fellow by Loughborough University.

Distributors Pavegen manufactures and exports in/from the United Kingdom.

Real-World Examples An article published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers shows the image of a display out in public, which is located near a passage way which has been retrofitted with Pavegen's floor tiles. The display outputs the following message: "Your 54,267 steps have brightened up this lane by 217,068 watt seconds".

Criticism The Register points out in 2015 that this device generates only "tiny, pointless amounts of energy".

See also Energy harvesting Renewable energy

References

External links Official website Loughborough graduate competes for design award

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pavegen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pavegen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pavegen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pavegen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pavegen

In research: Pavegen appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pavegen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pavegen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics British companies established in 2009, Renewable energy technology companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pavegen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Pavegen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pavegen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pavegen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pavegen in simple terms?

Why does Pavegen matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pavegen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pavegen.