Author: N/A
A group of Harvard students have invented a soccer ball that charges
electricity with each kick. The ball can then be used to power a light.
Popular Mechanics have already called it one of the breakthrough
innovations of the year. The Harvard students responsible for the
invention are calling it "sOccket." Hemali Thakkar, a graduating senior
at Harvard and one of the creators of the sOccket, told PRI's Living on
Earth:
We saw that there was this universal love
of soccer around the world and we saw this huge need for electricity
and we said, 'hey, why not, why not put the two together.' And that's
how sOccket came about.
The invention works by using magnetic charges. A magnet inside the
ball bounces back and forth through an inductive coil, allowing an
internal battery to capture current that can be used later on. It's the
same technology that a shake-flashlight uses to generate and store
power.The ball requires only fifteen minutes of use to power a single LED light for three hours, says Thakkar. After playing with the ball, a light can be plugged into an electrical socket on the outside of the ball. This socket can support a direct-current electrical plug, which is standard in developing countries.
Creating a sustainable energy source for developing countries is about more than simply the ability to see at night. It's an attempt to solve a public-health problem as well, Thakkar says. Over 1.5 billion people worldwide use kerosene lamps to light their homes -- a practice that is directly linked to respiratory infections, which account for the largest percentage of childhood deaths in developing nations.
During South Africa's World Cup, the Harvard students partnered with a design firm to create twenty prototypes of the ball They gave the prototypes to WhizzKids United, an organization dedicated to HIV care and prevention using soccer to reach at-risk kids. Marcus McGilvray, founder of WhizzKids United says, "The ball stood up to the conditions and it held out really well."
After some minor adjustments, the Harvard team hopes to have a new version of the ball on shelves next summer. Proceeds from American sales would support a buy-one-give-one model, so groups like Whizzkids in South Africa could start including the balls into their own programs. McGilvray told Living on Earth:
sOccket really gives it a whole new
dimension to be able to show them what innovative inventions are coming
up around the world. You know, it gets young people to think, 'Wow!, You
know, I think these are great things for children to learn from.'
Opinion: I think this is a great idea and an amazing advancement. It will really help benefit the people from Africa. If they can not pay for electricity they can play and generate electricity on their own. The only defect about this is that it can't generate much electricity. They say it can only power a light bulb. In the future they should be able to make changes and the soccer ball should be able to power much more.
Questions
- How helpful do you think this would be to the African society?
- Do you think this could help the public health crisis of Kerosene lambs?
- Do you think that kids in America would use this product?
Opinion:
ReplyDeletei think this is a great idea. THey had very few problems withe the ball, and the electricity is greatly needed, especially for the African kids that were mentioned. Even though this isnt a major problem in the US, we may need this innovative technology somewhere in the near future. I can also directly relate to this because i play soccer, and i would certainly use this ball if it was made available to me.
Question #1:
Well, not all Africans have access to electricity, so this could certainly help. Soccer is such a popular sport there because not much equipment is needed, and it can be played almost anywhere. So many kids will play soccer in there free time, and npw with this ball, it could be benifical for many people.
Opinion
ReplyDeleteI think that the Harvad students who came up with the electric soccer ball invention is brillant. This gives kids to play outside and have fun while also helping there family with electricity. The only down side to this soccer ball is that it could potientally put electrial companies out of buiness once tthey find out how to generate morw power. I don't think we need the socer ball as much as the foriegn countries do, such as Africans. But overall it will help millions of people. My sisters are big soccer players so they would probably buy one.
Question 1
I am almost postive that over half of American kids would buy the sOccket. This could give kids the chance to kick the soccer ball around ooutside and use it as an outlet to charge there electronics. Kids in america need to get outside and lose some weight and this is a chance to do that. This is a great invention and I'm pretty sure the electronic soccer ball will be on everyone's christmas list by the time Christmas comes if they haven't already got it.
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteI think that the soccer ball that generates electricity was an amazing idea. It's such an easy way to get alternative energy considering you only have to play with it for 15 minutes to get 3 hours of light! This is a fun and healthy way to generate electricity on your own. This soccer ball is probably going to be bought by a ton of people to test it out; at first I was concerned it wouldn't hold up, but then they said it was tried out with world cup players! I love to play soccer and would definately buy one of these balls when my current one wears out!
Question 3:
I believe kids in America would definately buy this product. It is the same exact thing as a normal soccer ball except it can generate power. I think kids would be over-excited to play with a soccer ball and later find out that the soccer ball they played with possibly helped power the lights they played under. This soccer ball would also give kids a chance to go outside and learn how fun it can be to generate electricity for their own devices. I think that thousands of kids would be thrilled to buy one of these balls!
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteCreating a soccer ball that can generate electricity was a brilliant idea. Soccer is no doubt the most known and played sport around the world, and connecting it with a way to power the world was an ingenious idea. I wonder why no one has thought of this sooner. My brothers have played soccer since they were little, and are constantly getting new soccer balls. This is a great way to not only occupy the kids in less developed countries but also help to power their houses.
Question #3:
It's hard to tell whether kids in America would use this soccer ball. I guess it depends if they would be able to obtain it with cost and accessibility to a place that sells them. I know people who would use this ball, my dad is my brothers soccer coach and he said that he would definitely consider using a ball like this at games and practices.