Soccer balls for developing countries
It may be that the football is the most popular children's pastime all over the world, especially in modern countries like the sport star. Its infrastructure is simple, a flat terrain, a ball, and some makeshift goals with whatever. And from there to play!
Even if buying or playing with a soccer ball seems like a simple act, cheap and normal. Not everyone has the same opportunities, and more, if we move to developing countries.
First, for the price of the ball, although it may seem cheap to us, in some countries it costs more than the monthly income of a family.
Second, by the difficulties getting a simple soccer ball normal once purchased, bloating it up or keeping it looking decent can be a titanic hurdle. If it is already difficult to get a ball, then imagine get an air pump.
Aware of the problem, the Japanese industrial design company Nendo together with the technological manufacturers of balls Molten, they just launched the project My Football Kit. A non-inflatable soccer ball that has the same kick feeling, than a standard ball, and is assembled in pieces.
Instead of relying on air pressure to maintain its shape, the ball takes advantage of the resilience of its surface material. His structure is inspired by a traditional Japanese technique of weaving thin bamboo sheets (strong, flexible, elastic and easy to process material) with which baskets and rugs are assembled, called Takeami.
The The structure of the ball forms a plastic skeleton assembled with three types of components for a total of 54 pieces., which closes easily with an integrated system of holes.
The ball's base skeleton is reinforced with more layers that shape the snap-in pentagon frames that help the ball maintain its shape when kicked.
The Soft exterior components are with recycled polypropylene technology and elastomeric synthetic resin They do not harm bare feet when you are playing soccer.
Being able to ride the ball like a "layman" has several advantages. If a component becomes detached during play, the interlocking structure ensures that the ball does not come apart or deform.
What's more, can continue to be used restore only broken components, making the ball last longer.
Another of the greats advantages of a ball assembled by pieces, it is a significant reduction in the costs of transfers and shipments. With this Ikea-style approach, 20 disassembled Nendo balls can fit into a space of 12 regular soccer balls, reducing shipping costs.
We must not lose sight of the fact that … They are balls designed for children! The components are available in various colors so that the little ones can make their combinations.
The assembly instructions are designed as a picture book, represented in its entirety with easy-to-understand drawings and without text, so that any child in the world can handle them.
If you wonder why no one has thought about this problem before with so many ideas of innovation, entrepreneur and modern company out there in the world. Well, from what we have found, it seems so! But with another design format, which, a prior, seems less successful in design.
The project One World Play Project. In this case, the balloon is compact - not inflatable - and is made of a kind of rubber or foam which makes them more durable.
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