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Eco 's0ccket' Ball Generates Enough Juice for LEDs or Battery Charges

by Caleb Johnson on February 3, 2010 at 02:25 PM


With the 2010 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, the whole world (yes, even the States) will soon be swept up in soccer mania. The event will certainly produce an economic surge in host country South Africa, but, thanks to four Harvard students, soccer could produce more energy for the African country, too. According to Planet Green, the s0ccket ball generates and stores enough energy to power an LED light or charge a small electronic device. After 15 minutes of kicking, you could power an LED light for three hours. (It's similar to those flashlights you shake to charge.) That's huge for a country that still struggles with its electronic grid.

The s0ccket team, composed of four women from Harvard, recently tested prototypes in South Africa. There's no intention for this ball to be used in games, but, in a place where kids make soccer balls out of trash, the s0ccket is a godsend. "You won't see David Beckham using it," said one of its creators, Jessica Lin. "But it's a big improvement over some of the makeshift balls the kids create from things like old plastic bags."

If this product catches on, it could definitely have a lasting effect on the people of South Africa -- long after the last echoes of World Cup cheers and chants have died. [From: s0ccket and Planet Green, via: Ubergizmo]

Tags: africa, energy, green, led, LED lighting, LedLighting, soccer, sports, top, worldcup

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