Generation of Electricity by Kicking a Soccer Ball.!!

sOccket – that’s a name you’d want to take note of, if you’re looking for the latest innovation on the green technology front. And it comes in the form of a soccer ball. A fun, portable, energy-harvesting one at that!

The idea for sOccket…

Was developed by four students in an engineering science class at Harvard University: Jessica Lin, Jessica Matthews, Julia Silverman and Hemali Thakkar.

And their intention?

Use the African continent’s love of soccer to provide them with a clean energy source derived from a good dose of healthy activity.

How does it work?

sOccket captures the energy from impact that is normally lost to the environment when the soccer ball is kicked, dribbled or thrown and stores this energy for later use. The electricity stored in the ball can then be used for simple applications such as lighting an LED lamp or charging a cell phone battery.

Why bother?

In most African countries, 95% of the population is living off-grid with no access to electricity. But an innovative device such as this gives them some hope and hopefully people will no longer need to walk three hours just to charge their cell phone. Instead they could just stay at home, play some soccer and generate the power required.

More about sOccket…

The prototype developed is 21 ounces, just 4 ounces more than a regular soccer ball. The developers however are exploring ways to incorporate the highest quality, lowest cost materials to make the ball even lighter and they also hope to design the ball in such a way that it would be durable in harsh conditions of dust, rain and heat.

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