Socket is a soccer ball that produces kinetic energy when it is played. It is hoped that the energy produced can help power off-grid areas across the world. That aim is looking quite realistic now as the team behind Soccket, Uncharted Play, has now launched a Kickstarter campaign, along with a brand new design for the ball.
A team of Harvard alumni created the Soccket ball, which can produce enough energy for three hours of use after only 30 minutes of play. The Soccket ball would therefore be a more reliable and sustainable energy source for underprivileged societies throughout the world.
Uncharted Play developed a system (patent pending) that traps and stores the kinetic energy produced when a ball is kicked to create the Soccket ball. The system makes use of a tiny pendulum to capture the energy when the ball moves, in turn, powering a generator that stores the energy in a rechargeable battery. The US-produced and -assembled product is made from soft, water-resistant and deflation proof EVA foam.
The Soccket ball was introduced in certain less privileged locations in North and South America, with current production per week only in the hundreds. However, with the new Kickstarter campaign, pledges (which will be accepted until March 28) would go a long way towards buying the required equipment to increase the production output.
I also wrote a blog post about the Soccket ( read more here: “http://www.poplarnetwork.com/news/5-successful-green-building-kickstarters-could-change-industry),
among other green building Kickstarter campaigns. What I have to
wonder about the Soccket, though, is if it will be cheap enough to
successfully distribute in third-world countries. Many kids in South
America and Africa use misshapen balls made out of cloth and other
salvaged materials. If they can’t afford a regular soccer ball, how
will they be able to afford a state of the art, energy-generating one?
Will they be donated?
I also wrote a blog post about the <a href=”http://www.poplarnetwork.com/news/5-successful-green-building-kickstarters-could-change-industry”>Soccket</a>, among other green building Kickstarter campaigns. What I have to wonder about the Soccket, though, is if it will be cheap enough to successfully distribute in third-world countries. Many kids in South America and Africa use misshapen balls made out of cloth and other salvaged materials. If they can’t afford a regular soccer ball, how will they be able to afford a state of the art, energy-generating one? Will they be donated?