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Global World Leaders!
Global World Leaders! Small and Medium Size Japanese Companies
Episode 52:Soundpower Corporation
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Since the Tohoku Earthquake, expectations have been growing for new energy sources which will take the place of fossil fuels and nuclear power. It is said that not only natural energy sources such as solar and wind energy, but also “sound” and “vibration,” can be utilized as energy sources. Mr. Kohei Hayami, the 30-year-old president of Soundpower Corporation, is pursuing next-generation ecological power generation technology, paying attention to something which has been discarded without consideration in the past. What is involved in power generation using sound and vibration? We visited Mr. Hayami to hear what he had to say. |
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The “Fujisawa Power Generating Gate” at the entrance of the Fujisawa Municipal Office LED lights and electronic paper show that electricity is being generated as people walk on the “power generating floor” installed at the gate. |
On the basis of an idea from his childhoodSoundpower Corporation is located in the Venture Business Support Facility adjacent to the Shonan Fujisawa Campus of Keio University. It was in 2006, when Mr. Hayami was in the master’s course at the graduate school of Keio University, that he established the company in this location. His idea of power generation using sound, however, dates back to a time nearly 20 years ago. Mr. Hayami tells us that he has been fond of inventing things since he was a child. He would often perform experiments according to his own ingenuity, putting his ideas in his invention notebook. “Back in my old school days, the teachers placed much value on things such as the observation of morning glory plants as independent research projects during the summer holidays. However, I hated copying others, and loved to try things no one else would choose. For example, I made paper models and determined which type of building was the most quake-resistant, etc. Nobody ever praised me though,” said Mr. Hayami with a wry smile. He received a hint for his current business from his science class at elementary school. “The experiments I performed were on motors and power generators. Motors turn due to electricity, and electricity is generated by turning motors. Therefore, the same might be true of speakers which emit sound, I thought. Just as sound is generated by electricity, so electricity could be generated by sound or vibration,” he said. As a boy, Mr. Hayami continued with his experiments and research in a process of trial and error, but his idea never came to fruition. Over time, the idea of power generation using sound came to be harbored in the depths of his heart. |
Realizing his ambition of starting a business when he was a studentMr. Hayami always hoped to “make a living by doing what he had liked” since the early days of his boyhood. He entered the Shonan Fujisawa Campus of Keio University, which emphasized university-launched ventures, and made a start on establishing his business in his first year of university. “I soaked up the knowledge required for starting a business. But at that time, I was not sure what kind of business I would start. It was when I was in my second year of university that I decided to concentrate fully on sound and vibration power generation,” he said. While he was earnestly pursuing his research, a company staff member cautioned him, saying, “It is an accepted notion that the energy of sound and the electricity it generates are so minimal that the concept would not be able to sustain a business.” “The words made me act repulsively… But at first, even if I managed to make LEDs flash, they soon went out. I wondered how I could improve the generating efficiency…,” he said. His worries were relieved by piezoelectric elements. The conventional electromagnetic induction method made it possible to obtain a certain amount of power output, but it was not practical in that it required wider vibration amplitudes. Piezoelectric elements are elements which contract and generate electric power when subjected to external forces. They are used in disposable cigarette lighters and the spark plugs of stove burners, and are characterized by their power generation capability, even when under only minimal stress. Piezoelectric elements matched Mr. Hayami’s belief that no product would gain in popularity unless it could be comfortably used as a daily commodity. Using such piezoelectric elements, he later produced the so-called “power generating floor” system, after repeated improvements. This system is installed in floors and roads to generate electricity when they receive vibration energy from people walking on them or automobiles running on them. Suppose you installed a power generating floor equipped with LEDs which stretched from the area around the bed to the hallway and lavatory. You wouldn’t even have to take the trouble to flip a switch. If you woke up in the middle of the night and got out of bed, the vibration would switch on the LEDs and, as you walked on them, they would lead you to the lavatory. You wouldn’t need any extra light from the ceiling to illuminate your surroundings; this is the ultimate form of ecological energy, which requires only your body weight and the movement of walking for power generation. When he decided that he would be able to make his idea work, Mr. Hayami established Soundpower Corporation with his own resources of one million yen in September 2006, and made a start as a student entrepreneur. |
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Example of installed “power generating floor” / Kokuyo Furniture Co., Ltd. |
Example of installed “power generating floor” / Participatory illumination of Enoshima Aquarium |
A top runner in ecological power generationThe concept of power generation using sound and vibration, which makes it possible to utilize energy which has been considered useless, was covered by various media outlets and caught people’s attention. Each time the way a power generating floor installed on expressway bridges could supply electricity for lights using the vibration caused by passing cars was introduced on TV, “I had many inquiries from companies,” Mr. Hayami said. Generating electricity while allowing us to live our normal lives, without regard to the existence of the system, is one of the system’s major characteristics. The core business of Soundpower Corporation is company-funded research on sound power generation. Soundpower has deployed the developed technologies in different products through its partnerships with a variety of companies. As present, the amount of electricity generated by sound/vibration power generation systems is smaller than that generated by solar or wind power generation systems, and the application range is also relatively limited. However, although the output may be small, sound/vibration power generation is on its own playing field. If the vibration caused by pushing the buttons on the remote controllers of home electrical appliances could be used for power generation, there would be no need for batteries. The “battery-less remote controller” is now under development for commercialization, in collaboration with a certain manufacturer, Mr. Hayami said. This seems to be just one of many examples where such development activities, which cannot all be described here, are being pursued. Mr. Hayami makes the following prediction: “If the technology makes progress, a considerable amount of output could be expected from sound/vibration power generation. I’m sure it will serve a role as energy suited to so-called ‘local production for local consumption (production and use at the same location).’ Moreover, it will make it possible to use the vibration and noise from automobiles and trains in the future.” Since the Tohoku Earthquake, environmentally-friendly power generation has attracted a lot of attention, and Soundpower has been receiving an increasing number of business-related inquiries, says Mr. Hayami. “The biggest advantage of vibration power generation lies in the fact that it is not limited to a specific location. The power generating floor demonstrates its greatest capability when it is applied to footlights for blackout situations and emergency staircases used at night. If you install it, it could also serve as an emergency device for earthquakes.” As a top runner in ecological power generation, Mr. Hayami says he intends to make proposals for new technology developments in the future. |
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Battery-less remote controller which uses “Shindo Battery®” (vibration batteries) |
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Soundpower Corporation Basic research on sound/vibration power generation, research/development/rental/sale, etc. of new products making use of vibration power generation Keio Fujisawa Innovation Village,4489-105 Endo, Fujisawa City,Kanagawa Prefecture |
(Reprinted from the " January issue of J2TOP = Global World Leaders! Small and Medium Size Japanese Companies = "
interview & article/J2TOP Editorial Department, published by Jiji Press Ltd.)
Translated under the responsibility of JST
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