by Brianna Crandall — December 9, 2019 — European real estate company Globalworth has commissioned Pavegen, the award-winning British clean-tech company, to construct two 20-square-meter energy-harvesting walkways. The paths are part of a larger green initiative to turn the office space into an environmentally friendly and high-tech hub for workers.
“Europe’s biggest interactive walkway” will convert the footsteps of pedestrians into off-grid electricity, data and rewards. Image courtesy Pavegen
Pavegen’s flooring technology converts the kinetic energy from people’s footsteps into electricity through electromagnetic induction. The unique technology is designed to seamlessly integrate into public spaces with high-footfall traffic, making the Globalworth offices in the heart of Bucharest an ideal location for its first Romanian installation.
With the installation, over 30,000 footsteps will be collected per day to power local LED lighting and a live data feed. The lighting in this area is a key asset to improving visibility and enjoyment of the area and increases interactivity with Globalworth’s “green office.”
Commenting on the new project, Dimiris Raptis, Deputy CEO and CIO of Globalworth, stated:
Technology is part of the DNA of our company, and today, thanks to them, we bring the offices of the future today. A workplace where we can generate energy through movement, where visitors can relax and work in a comfortable lobby, surrounded by nature elements and assisted by robots, all of which are the reality of the largest business community in Romania, Globalworth community.
Laurence Kemball-Cook, founder and CEO of Pavegen, pointed out:
With thousands of visitors a day, offices are a key spot for our energy and data generating technology. As the largest installation in Europe, this is a key milestone for us as we look to keep increasing our technological reach.
The smart flooring is part of a larger sustainability and clean-tech initiative in the office building. Globalworth has created an office space with one of the largest green walls in Europe; heated marble steps; the longest screen wall in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE); and Pepper, Globalworth’s first robot “employee.”
Pavegen walkway technology
Pavegen’s patented technology connects people to sustainability and smart cities, creating powerful experiences that convert footsteps into off-grid energy, rich data and rewards. The company calls this the “internet of beings,” making cities smarter with every step.
Pavegen supplies both permanent installations and experiential activations and powers off-grid applications such as games, lighting, and environmental monitoring. With embedded Low-Power Bluetooth connectivity, Pavegen can register the footsteps of individuals via its apps. When this real-time footfall data is combined with analytics, it can create powerful insights into the behaviors of people interacting with the company’s systems.
Founded in 2009, Pavegen has delivered 200 projects in 30 countries, including “the world’s first smart street” in London and “the world’s largest energy and data harvesting array” for Google in Berlin. The company’s model, the V3, won the 2017 Smart Cities Interactive Innovation award at South by Southwest and the 2018 UK PropTech award for social impact.
