Brightwalk Shoes - Show Me The Road

Many sporty people practice running at night, being exposed to accidents due to the darkness. Bright Walk is a lifestyle shoe that serves to perform running and walking in the dark. It is a human-powered lighting shoe based on piezo-electric sensors, and electroluminescent polymers.

This concept is based on existing technologies. Besides its aesthetic contribution to the fashion scene (for including functional lighting), it addresses the added value of safety for the runners.

The shoe is made out of flexible stretch cloth that holds the foot. It has two lighting areas in the exterior and back surfaces to illuminate the running path and alert cars respectively. Piezo-electric sensors in the sole receive the impact from walking or running and convert that energy into electric energy. The sensors from the sole transmit the impulses to the electroluminescent polymers (located in the rear and front ends of the shoe) via internal conductors. This electroluminescent polymers, produce light under an electric stimulus and bright without generating as much heat as other light sources. Plus it is not a heavy material that can be easily integrated with the other applications in the shoe to be carried with no perception from the runner.

Credits

Run The Planet thanks Zanic Design (www.zanicdesign.com) for the permission to reprint the article "Bright Walk". This futuristic footwear by Alberto Villarreal is an award-winning project that received a Honorable Mention at the Design Challenge 2, organized by "Popular Science" magazine and Core77.