This summer at the largest urban mall in London, visitors may notice something different at their feet. Twenty bright green rubber tiles will decorate one of the outdoor walkways at the mall. Next to it lies the new Olympic stadium in east London.

今年夏天，逛伦敦最大的城市购物商场的游客们可能会发现脚下跟以往有些不一样。其中一条户外人行道将会用20块翠绿色橡皮地砖来装饰。商场旁边坐落着伦敦东部的新奥林匹克体育馆。

The squares aren't just ornamental. They are designed to collect the energy created by pedestrians. It is estimated that 40 million pedestrians will use that walkway in a year. It will generate several hundred kilowatt-hours of electricity from the footsteps. That's enough to power half the mall's outdoor lighting.

这些地砖不仅仅具有装饰功能，还能用来收集行人产生的能量。预计一年有4000万行人走过那条人行道。行人的脚步可以产生几百千瓦时的电量。足以给商场户外一半的灯光设备供电。

The tiles were developed and produced in 2009 by a 26-year-old Londoner. The 17.7-by-23.6-inch tiles are designed to be used wherever pedestrians gather en masse: transportation hubs such as train, subway, and bus stations, airports, schools, malls. The power is generated from millions of footfalls. It can be used to power a range of lightings, signs, digital ads, etc.

2009年，26岁的伦敦人研制和生产出了这种地砖。17.7*23.6英寸的地砖可以应用到任何一个行人聚集的交通枢纽，如火车站、地铁站、汽车站、机场、学校和商场。数百万计脚步产生的能量可以用来给照明灯、指示牌、电子广告等供电。

Nearly 30 such projects have been installed in Europe. For two years now, four of its tiles have lined a hallway at a school near London. They collect energy from footfalls of its 1,100 students to keep the corridor lit. Music festival attendees'footfalls have also been controlled to charge cell phones and power lights.

在欧洲，这样的工程安装了近30个。目前，伦敦附近一所学校的走廊安装4块这样的地砖已经两年了。它们从1100名学生的脚步中收集能量，用来为走廊照明。音乐会上，人们的脚步产生的能量也被收集起来，用于给手机和照明灯供电。