Soccket
File:SOCCKET_ball.jpg SOCCKET was a soccer ball that harnesses and stores energy from play for later use as portable power source in resource-poor areas.
{{cite web
|url = http://bx.businessweek.com/entrepreneurship/view?url=http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2010/04/27/cool-invention-the-soccket/
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130118140425/http://bx.businessweek.com/entrepreneurship/view?url=http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2010/04/27/cool-invention-the-soccket/
|url-status = dead
|archive-date = 18 January 2013
|work = Business Exchange
|title = Cool Invention: the sOccket
|publisher = Bloomberg Business
|date = 27 April 2010
|first = Rich
|last = Whittle
{{cite web
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2010/06/18/nr.the.big.i.soccket.cnn.html
|title=Soccer ball turns into lamp
|work=CNN Live
|date=6 July 2010
}} It was the flagship product of Uncharted Play, Incorporated (now Uncharted Power).
{{cite web
|url=http://www.soccket.com/media-gallery/clinton-global-initiative/
|title=Clinton Global Initiative University 2011
}}
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.
{{cite journal
|url=http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/63394/
|journal=New York
|date=31 January 2010
|title=The Approval Matrix: Week of February 8, 2010
{{cite news
|url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/using-soccer-to-supplant-kerosene-use/
|title=Using Soccer to Supplant Kerosene Use
|work=The New York Times
|date=26 January 2010
|first=Jim|last=Witkin
}} 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.
According to Engineering for Change, the product was discontinued in 2016.{{Cite web|title=Soccket|url=https://www.engineeringforchange.org/solutions/product/soccket/|access-date=2021-12-08|website=Engineering For Change|language=en-US}} Uncharted, the company which made it, led as of 2021 by Jessica O. Matthews, no longer features the product on their website, but notes that the company initially worked on "energy-generating play products" before shifting to other areas.{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.uncharted.city/about|access-date=2021-12-08|website=Uncharted|language=en}}
Media reaction
The SOCCKET scored on the "Highbrow" and "Brilliant" quadrant of New York's "Approval Matrix" for the week of February 8, 2010.
It has been reported to have broken quickly after the first use by some recipients.{{cite news|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-04-08/impoverished-kids-love-soccer-ball-powers-lamp-until-it-breaks|title=Impoverished kids love the soccer ball that powers a lamp — until it breaks
|work=Public Radio International|date=Apr 8, 2014|accessdate=Apr 8, 2014}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web
|title=sOccket: Soccer Ball by Day, Light by Night
|work=Discovery News
|publisher=Discovery
|url=http://news.discovery.com/tech/soccket-soccer-ball-by-day-light-by-night.html
|first=Clark|last=Boyd
|date=18 February 2010
}}
- {{cite web
|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-07-06/news/27619270_1_cell-phone-torch-light
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024052117/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-07-06/news/27619270_1_cell-phone-torch-light
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=October 24, 2011
|title=Coming soon: A football that powers cell phone
|date=6 July 2010
|work=Economic Times
}}
- {{cite web
|url=https://gizmodo.com/5561974/kick-this-soccer-ball-around-for-some-light
|work=Gizmodo
|title=A Soccer Ball To Light Up Developing Nations
|date=12 June 2010
|first=Kyle|last=VanHemert
}}
- {{cite web
|url=https://share.america.gov/soccer-ball-day-reading-light-night-2/
|work=ShareAmerica
|title=Soccer ball by day, reading light by night
|date=7 October 2014
|first=Mark|last=Trainer
}}
External links
- [http://www.unchartedplay.com Official Uncharted Play website]