SBT Editor
John Sarich still believes he has his best foot forward in the race to bring power-generating shoes to the market.
Sarich, of Franklin, was profiled in the May 26, 2000 issue of Small Business Times for his work in the development of shoes that generate electricity. Reader feedback to that article ranged from deep interest to skepticism to scoffing that such a person would be given publicity.
Sarich hasn’t been put off by the skeptics, just delayed by the usual struggle to get backing for a radical idea.
But some of his competitors recently received international attention in two highly-credible Web-based news sites. An article in Wired Digital, a site of the Lycos Network, describes efforts of a British man to develop shoes that can produce low amounts of electricity. That article then was mentioned in a e-mail and Web site periodical called the Rapidly Changing Face of Technology, produced by Jeffrey R. Harrow of Compaq Computer Corp.
The article describes how Trevor Baylis, made famous by the invention of a radio that is powered by a wind-up device, is testing shoes that generate electrical charges in a piezoelectric method – whereby crystals under a load change property and thus generate power. Another engineer mentioned in the article, Jim Gilbert, has tested shoes that generate power on a dynamo system. Each time the heel of the shoe hits the ground, a dynamo spins and generates power.
(You can read the article at www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,37276,00.html.)
The article notes that both of those methods can generate 100 to 150 milliwatts of power, which isn’t enough to power a cellphone but which is enough to trickle-charge the battery. Eventually, Gilbert said, the shoes should be able to generate between one and three watts of power, which is enough to run gadgets.
They’re running behind, says Sarich.
"What they are admittedly only beginning to investigate, I have already patented years ago," says Sarich. "Most important, the piezoelectric method can not generate close to 1 watt. My shoes can generate up to 200 or 300 watts. I am well familiar with piezoelectric materials and have not found them very promising."
Sarich’s plan is to have a power-generating shoe with wires running up a suit of clothing. Those wires could feed power tools, hand-held computer and telecommunication devices, medical devices, and other items – all of which he has laid out in detailed plans.
Models of his shoes will be available this spring, Sarich said, adding that, "Investors will be there in abundance once my models are complete."
Sarich can be contacted via e-mail at coxco@execpc.com.
By the way, Harrow’s Rapidly Changing Face of Technology newsletter is a pretty interesting look at what’s going on in the world of technology advances. You can subscribe to the weekly journal via the Web at www.compaq.com/rcfoc.
