Pavegen, a pavement data startup, received $3.3m in crowdfunding for its smart sidewalks

Pavegen, a UK startup that tracks footsteps through data and turns it into power, has crowdfunded its way to $3.3.m.

TechCrunch reports that the campaign wrangled funds from over 1,400 investors, including a partnership and investment from global engineering giant Hinduja Group.

A dull data company with a bright idea

The startup turns kinetic energy of footsteps into both electricity and data. Pavegen claims a single footstep can power a 3-watt LED light bulb for a second, or in human language, Forbes reports that it’s about 6 seconds on an iPhone.

Hinduja, which has made a deliberate turn to get out in front of the smart city boom, sees Pavegen as a ticket to reduce the cost of manufacturing. But at $25k+ per square meter, the technology still has a long way to go.

Smart pavement, cool

Tech giants like Google, and countries like Saudi Arabia, China and India have all begun work to construct smart cities around the world.

Countries, corporations, and investors alike see it as the intersection of traditional networks and digital technology in a revolutionary 21st century blueprint.  

And Pavegen is the futuristic construction company there to provide the digital (and physical) hammers.