This semester I am teaching our new class Sophomore Project Lab.  It’s a mix of research and engineering.  Basically, students pick a project and then go to work.  They get a whole semester to complete their project. This is the first of some epic blog posts.

Braden Patterson build a floor tile that generates electricity when you step on it.  I call it the “Billie Jean”.  Check out the Billy Jean video by Michael Jackson to see why.

So here it is.

It is really cool.  It uses a whisk to push a magnet through a coil of wire when you press down on the device.  The changing magnetic field flux in the coil causes a change in voltage. 

I made a quick tiktok on it.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8UMRGpQ

A special thank you goes to Christopher Stahley and Professor Christopher Saucedo from the Art shop.   They helped with its construction. I love how helpful they have been through this whole process.