THE SOCCKET: Turning Soccer Balls Into Power Sources and providing 3rd world children with a toy by day and light at night.
A group of undergrad engineering students at Harvard have developed an ingenius device that addresses the pitfalls of poverty in 3rd world countries.
Meet the Soccket. A soccer ball that contains an inductive coil mechanism similar to the ones found in shake and charge flashlights. The coil, stored inside a soccer ball, contains a small magnet that when rolled through the coil builds an electric charge.
The Soccket allows the user to connect an LED light to this power source which, after only 15 minutes of game play, will provide up to 3 hours of light.
The concept for utilizing a soccer ball as an energy source was developed after several harvard students visited Africa. They noted children would play soccer all day long. Often substituting cans and other scraps of garbage for the ball. These children also lived in homes without power sources or any form of light after night fall.
The soccket provides both a ball and a light source for children who otherwise would go without either. With continual improvements to the static mechanism its producers hope to achieve longer running times after minimal game play.