Soccket

SOCCKET is a soccer ball that harnesses and stores energy from play for later use as portable power source in resource-poor areas.[1][2] It was the flagship product of Uncharted Play, Incorporated (now Uncharted Power).[3]

History

Jessica Lin, Julia Silverman, Jessica O. Matthews, Hemali Thakkar, who were at the time undergraduates at Harvard University, and Aviva Presser, who was a Harvard graduate student at the time, were the inventors listed on the initial patent. Prototypes of the ball first appeared in the media in early 2010.[4][5] The mass-produced version of the ball is the brainchild of Uncharted Play, Inc.--a social enterprise founded by two of the original inventors, Jessica O. Matthews and Julia C. Silverman.[3]

Media reaction

The SOCCKET scored on the "Highbrow" and "Brilliant" quadrant of New York's "Approval Matrix" for the week of February 8, 2010.[4]

It has been reported to have broken quickly after the first use by some recipients.[6]

gollark: From a rough skimming of the Wikipedia page it looks like the protocol effectively just requires VoIP providers to not do evil things.
gollark: Ooo, an animated version? Neat!
gollark: I think it will probably still be somewhat bad for a while, given that quite a lot of people are just not working right now.
gollark: There are some web serials I like as well as regular books. No idea what my favourite of either category is. I am bad at picking those.
gollark: I really do not care.

References
  1. Whittle, Rich (27 April 2010). "Cool Invention: the sOccket". Business Exchange. Bloomberg Business. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013.
  2. "Soccer ball turns into lamp". CNN Live. CNN Live. 6 July 2010.
  3. "Clinton Global Initiative University 2011".
  4. "The Approval Matrix: Week of February 8, 2010". New York Magazine. 31 January 2010.
  5. Witkin, Jim (26 January 2010). "Using Soccer to Supplant Kerosene Use". The New York Times.
  6. "Impoverished kids love the soccer ball that powers a lamp — until it breaks". Public Radio International. Apr 8, 2014. Retrieved Apr 8, 2014.

Further reading
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