A team of four engineering students at the Harvard University have come up with an ingenious idea that could change the lives of rural African people. The students have designed a unique soccer ball that generates electricity when being kicked around.
Dubbed the SOccket, the ball captures the energy from impact that is usually lost to the environment. The generated electricity is then stored in the ball, which after dark can be used to light an LED lamp or charge a cell phone.
The research can transform the lives of more than 1 billion people around the world who rely on kerosene lamps to light their homes after dark. The SOccket ball can on the other hand prove to be an inexpensive solution that is green as well.
This unique energy harvesting SOccket ball weighs a maximum of 21 ounces that is 4 ounces more than conventional soccer balls, but the developers are hoping to reduce its weight with the use of lightweight materials.The sOccket is a soccer ball that captures the energy during game play to charge LEDs and batteries. After playing with the ball, the child can return home and use the ball to connect a LED lamp to read, study, or illuminate the home.
The ball uses an inductive coil mechanism to generate energy. The product is still in prototyping stage, where 15 minutes of play can light 3 hours of LED light.
Beta tests are underway throughout Africa this summer 2010 !
For more details follow http://www.soccket.com
For some more entries on some green ideas follow http://www.ecofriend.org
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