Hackaday Awards 2022: Treadmill Becomes Human-Powered Generator

Running on a treadmill is a great way to train, but what if the effort put in could be used? This treadmill generator by [Amitabh Shrivastava] does just that.

Building starts with a regular old treadmill, which has a motor inside typically used to power the tread. Instead, the engine control electronics were removed and it was reused to operate as a generator. The output of the treadmill's DC motor was routed directly to a DC-DC converter. This was then fed to an inverter that generates 120VAC, which can power devices consuming up to 20-25W depending on [tinrkrmind] operating performance.

It's a fun way to generate energy during a workout. If you don't want your treadmill monitor to turn off in the middle of a Friends replay, you'll have to dig deep on those long runs. We've seen similar builds before, with exercise bikes being a popular method of generating electricity. In fact, it's [Amitabh's] next project! Video after the break.

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