This is a portable eco friendly soccer dummy. It’s portable aspect is due to its lightweight and sturdy design with a bottom that is weighted with water or sand. I used small Gatorade bottles as the main part of the dummy because of their lightweight design and sturdy plastic; these bottles are connected to the bottom of the PVC tube with string and bungee cord to keep them tight.

The ball-return project started with a mind map of what I wanted the system to be able to do and multiple ways that I could build the different parts of the project. The mind map helped me see that there were three basic parts to the problem: (1) capturing the ball (makes and misses), (2) determining the player’s location on the court, and (3) moving the ball from the capture point to the player.

I considered a wide variety of approaches, including not catching the ball but building a system to direct it back to the player from wherever it happened to come to rest -- for example, by having a robot fetch balls, or having a special floor that tilted or blew (imagine something like an air-hockey table) the ball back to the player.  But I decided that catching the ball in a large net and throwing back to the player was the most practical.

I explored three different methods for returning the ball to the player and built prototypes of each. The first way was with 3 hammers put together with zip ties and a long piece of metal to allow for a big swing with a lot of momentum. The 2nd way was with long 2x4 with springs attached to catapult the ball to the player. The last way was with 2 wheels connected to motors. From each of these 3 ways to launch the ball back to the player main things I needed the ball to be able to reach the player at the 3 point line (19.75 feet) with a good crisp pass at chest height. I found that the hammers were able to get the ball to a decent distance but to reach the 3 point line the ball would have to take one bounce. Another problem with using the hammer was having the hammer reset after it had swung to hit and launch the ball. Also, to be able to get the ball far enough the hammers and the metal rod would have to be very long  and ultimately make it very bulky and heavy. The second system of a spring-based catapult was able to throw a good distance but would also have to bounce to get all the way to the three point line. In addition from the catapult being spring loaded it would also have to be reset after each time is shot the ball to the player. The last way that I tried was with two motors that were connected to rubber wheels and an adjustable ramp system. This was by far the best method, with the ball easily able to get to the distance I needed it to and being the least bulky and very simple that would not involve having to be reset after each time it shot the ball to the player.

The last main problem I needed to solve was being able to know the players location of the court and have the ball get to the spot. The first idea was having weight sensors in the floor that would communicate to another machine of where the player is on the court. The second idea was using a camera something like what the X-box and the Wii use. The final idea was to have to player wear a device that sends a signal to another device that rotates to always face the player because of the device they are wearing. Conveniently I was able to find a machine called a Swivl that uses infrared and radio frequencies. The Swivl is composed to two parts a portable signal emitter and a stationary receiver. The Swivl ultimately solved this problem and with easy access to it I decided to use it.

I wanted to build a “wall” of soccer players in order to practice kicking free kicks around such a wall. I started off with an idea to have a flat base and mesh players but this was too heavy and would be difficult to transport and store. Then we went for a round bottom that would roll back to centre with mesh players, we scraped this because again it was too heavy and very difficult to make before our deadline. This is when we got to our bottle idea that added an aspect of it being eco friendly and inexpensive. We took inspiration from a push puppet so we could string the bottles through the frame to keep them sturdy and allow them to snap back into position even when hit very hard with a soccer ball. The string that run through the frame and the bottles are connected to  elastic cords  at the bottom to keep the bottles in position..  

Everyone gets dry skin. In New England, the weather is cold and dry from late October through early April. During those winter months, I start each day with a squirt of hand lotion from the bottle on my bedside table. Inevitably, my hands get dry during the day. I don’t carry a lotion bottle in my pocket for fear of an explosion, so I wait to re-apply at the end of the day.

I wanted a portable, easy way to carry lotion with me. Originally, I imagined a jacket that dispensed lotion through a sleeve, with a reservoir of lotion stored in a breast pocket. However, the jacket would need to be manufactured with the lotion dispenser, so I scrapped that idea.

Through collaboration with my classmates, I came up with the idea of a lotion-filled bracelet. The first prototype was a bead bracelet; each bead would be filled lotion, and could be crushed to dispense the lotion. However, if a user were to lean on his/her wrist, the beads would burst and lotion would get everywhere.

The second prototype was a tube bracelet, featuring a lotion-filled tube that served as a bracelet. It soon became clear, however, that loading the tube would require a syringe, and dispensing the lotion was difficult.

Finally, I came to the early stages of my final design: a bracelet with one central dispenser. I designed and 3D printed a square dispenser, but I had no way of attaching the rubber top, which was essential for dispensing the lotion. Also, it was impossible to reload the lotion once the top was in place.

I moved on to a screw top design, which allowed me to easily reload lotion. I attached the rubber top with silicone sealant, and the rubber was held in place by pressing against the rim of the lotion holder. After many prototypes, I eventually created a design that worked.

I created a lotion-filled bracelet that dispenses hand lotion at the touch of a button. Rather than make constant trips to your stationary lotion bottle, or even carry a lotion bottle in your pocket, simply strap the bracelet onto your wrist and lotion up at your leisure.

Complete with a screw top, the bracelet can be easily refilled with any lotion. Simply unscrew the top, load your favorite lotion, and screw the top back on. Press down on the flexible rubber top to dispense. Each bracelet can be 3D printed in under forty minutes.

Just like painted art made a transition from realism to impressionistic forms, sports could do the same.  The basic concept here is to add animated features to sports event broadcasts, or even replace the real visuals with a fully simulated alternative.  Imagine football players who look like characters out of Avatar.  Or special effects that show small explosions when a big hit is made.  Or when a player gets injured, the video might show their arm actually being ripped off an blood squirting everywhere.

The video broadcast would have to honor all of the actual stats of the game, but could embellish certain aspects.  If the effects could be applied quickly, then games could be shown almost in real-time.  Otherwise they would be shown with some delay.  

One way to think of this is that the broadcast could be a video-game-like reprsentation of the sport, using the actual play of the players as "controllers."  You might even embed special sensors in the uniforms (and shoes, helmets, etc.) to assist with accurate tracking of movements.