The NU Varsity Soccer Team struggled to effectively train while at home, because they couldn't rely on having anyone else to workout with. Enter: the Passing Pal.
The Passing Pal is a soccer ball launcher intended to be used and operated by one person, so they can conduct drills that normally need a second player. We interviewed players and worked to understand the requirements, then iteratively developed our solution and created a high-fidelity final mockup.
Northwestern University Varsity Soccer Team // Design, Thinking, and Communication
March 2018 – June 2018
User Testing With Mockups / Competitive and Model Product Research / Mill, Lathe, Bandsaw, Table Saw
Takeaways.
This project was my first opportunity to really dig into the prototyping and manufacturing facilities at Northwestern, and I was able to gain a lot of valuable experience familiarizing myself with new tools as I led the manufacturing of my team's final prototype.
I also continued to refine my product research skills, using competitive products, like other soccer ball launchers, and model products, like a PEZ dispenser, to inspire innovation within our product.
If you are interested in learning more about our design process, feel free to explore the project details below!
NU Varsity Soccer players struggled to perform certain drills while training at home in the offseason.
Northwestern Varsity Soccer wanted to have their players perform drills during the offseason that often required a second player, as seen in the image.
But, some players trained by themselves when at home, so my design team and I had the opportunity to make a machine that autonomously passed soccer balls.
My team and I mocked up different ideas to test.
After brainstorming, we constructed many mockups with scrap materials to better visualize our ideas.
Our team also conducted user testing with some NU soccer players to get feedback on each mockup.
I led the design and manufacturing of our final soccer ball launcher prototype.
Our final design was a ramp capable of storing three soccer balls and dispensing them one at a time to be propelled towards the user at the user’s signal (pulling the rope to raise the rubber gate).
Detail views of the release mechanism, motor-wheel system, and the clamp system to hold each motor in place are shown, along with views of our final prototype. See the Manufacturing skill page for more details.
