By Sara Ashley O'Brien and Aimee Rawlins @CNNMoney July 1, 2015: 3:40 PM ET
Uncharted Play
Jessica O. Matthews thinks playing can be, quite literally, good for the world.
At the ripe age of 19, Matthews invented the SOCCKET with a fellow student at Harvard. The SOCCKET is a device that looks like a soccer ball but when in motion, it generates energy that can be used to power an LED lightbulb in the developing world. The more the ball rolls during playtime, the more energy it harvests.
Post-graduation, Matthews continued to work on bringing the SOCCKET to life. In 2011, Matthews founded Uncharted Play. Today, it has two products: the SOCCKET and PULSE, a jump rope that stores energy to charge cellphones or computers. Both items (which cost $99 each) serve the very functional purpose of generating clean power through motion. Over 50,000 SOCCKETS have been used by people in developing countries through Uncharted Play's Think Out of Bounds educational program with local schools.
The New York-based Uncharted Play plans to make their proprietary technology called M.O.R.E. (Motion-based, Off-Grid, Renewable Energy), available to companies for license later this year. -- S.O.
