Soccket

The SOCCKET ball powering a light

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

## History

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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][6] According to Engineering for Change, the product was discontinued in 2016.[7] 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.[8]

## Media reaction

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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.[9]

## References

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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. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on June 23, 2010.
3. ^ a b "Clinton Global Initiative University 2011".
4. ^ a b "The Approval Matrix: Week of February 8, 2010". New York. 31 January 2010.
5. ^ Witkin, Jim (26 January 2010). "Using Soccer to Supplant Kerosene Use". The New York Times.
6. ^ Bolat, John. "Soccer Live". Retrieved 28 November 2021.
7. ^ "Soccket". Engineering For Change. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
8. ^ "About". Uncharted. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
9. ^ "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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* Boyd, Clark (18 February 2010). "sOccket: Soccer Ball by Day, Light by Night". Discovery News. Discovery.
* "Coming soon: A football that powers cell phone". Economic Times. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011.
* VanHemert, Kyle (12 June 2010). "A Soccer Ball To Light Up Developing Nations". Gizmodo.
* Trainer, Mark (7 October 2014). "Soccer ball by day, reading light by night". ShareAmerica.

## External links

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* Official Uncharted Play website