Saudi Arabia: Could Mecca Grand Mosque be powered using footsteps?

Abu Dhabi: Two Saudi academics have registered a patent in the US Patent Office for an idea to generate electricity by walking on small pistons placed under floors, according to Al Ekhbariya TV.

“We took years to register this patent,” said Dr. Abdul Hamid Al Khatib, assistant professor of medical engineering at King Abdulaziz University, one of the patentees, indicating that the world is looking for clean energies at a time when there are wasted energies that have not yet been harnessed.

Al Khatib explained this technology works by “pressing small pistons that are placed under the floors, and the generated energy is collected in batteries for the time of need,” noting that it is suitable for places where the number of pedestrians is large over long distances.

Al Khatib added that there is no need for expensive materials to operate this invention, and that its implementation does not require new equipment or technologies that need to be discovered.

To do this, he explained, “you can use ordinary tiles with pistons underneath, and we use a liquid that may be water, oil, or inert gases. When the pistons are pressed, turbines similar to those that generate power through air or water move,” he said.

Al Khatib pointed out that this technology could be suitable for places, such as malls, the Riyadh walkway, hotel entrances, and likewise the Grand Mosques in Mecca and Medina, because they contain large numbers of walkers, who can contribute to providing a large proportion of the energy needed to light the two mosques.