Japanese companies develop DIY airless ball kit for children in developing countries

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Engineers and product designers at Japan’s Molten Corporation and design house Nendo have developed an airless do-it-yourself football intended for children in developing countries, with the technical features demonstrated in Hiroshima on Wednesday.

Named the ‘My Football Kit’, the product aims to have an educational component to it through the assembly process.

Unlike a traditional football, the airball does not require an air pump and cannot deflate.
The kit is not available for purchase by the general public and will be distributed via partner companies to “children in developing countries and other places.”

According to Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, a technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division, the ball has been developed “in such a way that it feels the same when you kick it as when you kick a real ball.”

Wakibayashi also pointed out that the ball has also been designed in a way which prevents players from getting hurt when kicking the ball without shoes.

Sustainability is also a key area of the product, which is currently made from 40 percent recycled plastic, with the designers also challenging the problem of ‘throw-away’ culture.

“By making it an assembled kit ball, each part can be disassembled. This means that the ball can be repaired, even if it breaks,” added Wakibayashi.

Molten has been manufacturing sports equipment since 1958.

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SOT, Jun Uchida, Manager at Molten Corporation’s Product Planning Department (Japanese): “There are many children around the world who would like to play soccer, but are unable to do so. We, companies, soccer clubs, and other people who can sponsor such children, will donate this ball to give them a chance to dream.”

SOT, Jun Uchida, Manager at Molten Corporation’s Product Planning Department (Japanese): “Children can incorporate their learning by assembling it themselves. In this way, we can contribute to education and the children will experience a sense of accomplishment that they were able to assemble the ball by themselves. As a result there’s the concept of thinking about the growth of the children after the ball is assembled, or in other words, after the ball is given to them, this ball is an assembled, airless ball.”

SOT, Jun Uchida, Manager at Molten Corporation’s Product Planning Department (Japanese): “[The] ‘This My Football Kit’ is not available for purchase by the general public. The ball will be delivered to children in developing countries and other places through [partner] companies.”

SOT, Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, Technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division (Japanese): “The idea for this ball came from the traditional Japanese ‘Kemari’, or in Thailand, ‘Sepak Takraw.’ A ball with no air in it, a round shape to kick. We got the idea from those.”

SOT, Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, Technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division (Japanese): “There are 12 of these parts and 12 of these [other] parts. Thirty of these parts make this one ball. All of these materials contain 40 percent recycled plastic.”

SOT, Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, Technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division (Japanese): “You can put in here, but can’t put in here. You can put in here. And not here. By using round holes and long holes to fix the position of the claws that put in, we have designed the product in such a way that it can be assembled naturally, even without a manual.”

SOT, Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, Technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division (Japanese): “We have designed the ball in such a way that it feels the same when you kick it as when you kick a real ball. Another point that cannot be overlooked is safety. The ball is designed in such a way that even if you kick it with bare feet, you will not get hurt.”

SOT, Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, Technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division (Japanese): “By making it an assembled kit ball, each part can be disassembled. This means that the ball can be repaired, even if it breaks. By doing this, we were able to make the ball so that children are motivated to fix it and use it again, instead of just throwing it away when it breaks.”

SOT, Kazuyuki Wakibayashi, Technician at Molten Corporation’s Engineering and Development Sports Division (Japanese): “This material contains 40 percent recycled material. However, it is still only 40 percent, so we would like to increase this to 60 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent, and eventually 100 percent recycled resin.”

#Japan #DIY #AirlessBallKit #MyFootballKit

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