Developed in 2018 at Arizona State University as a part of the Biodesign Challenge, MyStep is a new way to create energy. Through the use of mycelium bricks and piezoelectric sensors energy is developed when someone steps on the “tiles.” The tile looks as though it were a pile of saw dust and dirt formed into the shape of a standard building brick. Within this brick is the round white and metallic piezoelectric sensor that looks to be about the size of a quarter with two wires sticking out of it. Inside the brick is also a printed circus board. This product comes with the recommendation of being placed in high foot-traffic areas for maximum energy productivity.
MyStep is an answer to the long debated energy crisis. As more and more humans are on the planet and traditional energy resources are depleted, there is a greater need for renewable energy. When this product is in a high-traffic area, it gives energy back to those who walk on it in a different form. This project could also give the everyday human a sense of how much energy they use going from place to place as well as an understanding of just how many people go through a certain area based on the energy produced by this brick. Typically, people do not sit in a high-traffic area and count just how many people go by every day like they would. The amount of energy developed by simply walking on a brick will give viewers and users a true understanding of the energy needs we, as humans, demand.
https://biodesignchallenge.org/asu-2018
Art & Sustainability 