Shoppers heading to Oxford Street in central London will be able to try out a ‘smart walkway’ that generates energy to power ambient lighting and sit on a bench designed to remove pollutants from the air.

 

The installations are on Bird Street – a side road near Selfridges off the main shopping thoroughfare – and were unveiled last Thursday, to demonstrate how future technology can enhance a city’s retail offer.

 

It is hoped that Bird Street will become a pilot scheme to make other urban areas more pleasant places for people to congregate.

 

Central to the transformation of the previously under used street is the 10m² energy harvesting walkway. People step on the tiles and their weight causes electromagnetic induction generators to displace, resulting in a rotatory motion that generates electricity.

 

Energy from the walkway not only powers nearby lights but generates bird sounds. In addition Bluetooth enabled low energy transmitters incorporated in the walkway allow pedestrians to interact with smartphone apps offered by retailers.

 

The walkway has been developed by manufacturer Pavegen, which has completed more than 150 installations of its footfall powered flooring around the world, including one at Heathrow airport.

 

The ‘clean air bench’ in Bird Street has been installed by a company called Airlabs. A series of fans draw air polluted with nitrogen dioxide into the back of the bench, where pollutants are removed before clean air in blown back out.

 

(Photo: Pavegen)