Shopping centre walkway converts steps into rewards

A newly-installed walkway at a London shopping centre converts the footsteps of customers into electricity allowing them to earn rewards.

Smart city projects are emerging everywhere. From paving slabs that can provide wifi coverage to a traffic light that adjusts to a pedestrian’s level of mobility. The latest is a shopping centre in London that is converting footsteps into energy and shopping rewards.

The Mercury shopping centre in East London is installing a new walkway at its entrance which converts the kinetic energy of footsteps into electricity. Screens above the walkway will provide customers with information on how much electricity their footsteps are generating. Customers will also be able to download The Mercury Smart Rewards app. The app offers ‘Smart Rewards’ points for discounts and offers at the centre, based on how much energy each customer has generated.

The walkway at The Mercury uses a system developed by UK-based company Pavegen Systems, which we first featured in 2010. Rubber slabs are depressed by the weight of people walking over them. This movement is then converted into electricity, which is stored in the slab. The project at The Mercury joins around 150 projects which the company has installed around the world. The Mercury has a commitment to sustainability and has already installed solar panels, invested in highly efficient heating systems and plans to achieve zero waste to landfill in 2018. However, unlike those ‘silent’ eco-initiatives, customers using the walkway and Smart Rewards app will have the opportunity to directly engage with sustainability.