This Is In The,

'what a neat idea' department,

 as you walk you generate electricity, be it on the pavement or in a store, school or even playing on a football pitch!

the floor tiles were developed by London-based startup Pavegen to produce kinetic energy when stepped on, the company's smart flooring solution relies on pedestrians to generate reusable energy strong enough to power public lightning, when stepped on, the tiles cause electromagnetic induction generators to move, setting off a rotary motion that in turn generates power, according to the company, one footstep is enough to generate the amount of off-grid energy needed to light an LED lightbulb for approximately 20 seconds,

when installed in a retail setting, visitors and customers in a shop are able to earn digital currency for every step that they take, which is collected using a smartphone app and could be used towards a purchase or to donate to charitable causes, so no more waiting outside dress shops for me, I will walk a few extra miles with Diana earning money as we go!

"What that means is that if you walk into a retailer, you are powering 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the lighting," said Laurence Kemball-Cook, CEO and founder of Pavegen, "As a user, the retailer would say Laurence, you have made 42 steps, if you can make 50 steps we'll give you some money off your purchase, or even better, you can choose to donate that energy somewhere else," he added, Pavegen was founded in 2009 and has completed over 150 projects globally, it offers permanent public and commercial flooring, as well as temporary installations for events, it seems like a neat idea, but how long does it take to recoup the initial costs of the tiles, instillation and maintenance?