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Dodge Ball Toy
Self powered rolling ball darts around very quickly, kids try to jump out of the way. | |
If it hits them they loose a point.
A motor makes the thing dart around very fast in
unpredictable patterns making avoiding it very hard.
Could also shape it like animals you'd want to avoid,
spiders,
rats, snakes etc.
The spider shape would have a nice visceral touch. A 6"
spider darting
at you lightening fast would certainly get
your
blood going.
This would be designed to be played on grass in case the
kids fell.
If you went with the ball design, it would have a crazy
face on it. Let me find something from the web to post a
link to.
VARIATION: A launcher that shoots foam balls out in
random directions. Solves some weight issues.
Painted something like this if you went with the ball shape.
https://www.google....grc=gbdFluk00ar9vM:
Angry balls are a pretty common art theme. [doctorremulac3, Jul 04 2019]
Soft foam pistons shoot out at random making it dart about and jump unpredictably.
https://images.app....l/u4XNi6V96nvY7E7fA
They'd have to be eyeball safe though. [doctorremulac3, Jul 06 2019]
Sort of...
https://www.parrot....parrot-jumping-sumo
This is kind of what you want (but not ball shaped); it can jump (which is what made me think of it). [neutrinos_shadow, Jul 07 2019]
Orb From Phantasm
https://www.youtube...watch?v=9d30_Y2bF64
WARNING - it's gory - a famous scene from Don Cosarelli's horror classic Phantasm [xenzag, Jul 08 2019]
Dodge Balls commercial
https://www.youtube...watch?v=xZ0OUq_kDh8
[doctorremulac3, Jul 09 2019]
[link]
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"But with the blast shield down, I can't even see! How am I supposed to fight? " |
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//A 6" spider darting at you// |
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Welcome to Australia, [dr3]. Don't run that way, that's where the
ants are. |
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Or that way, that's where the poisonous octupi are ... or over there (snakes), or in there (crocodiles) or down there (sea snakes and stonefish) or round there (gimpi-gimpi trees) or up there (drop bears) ... |
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It's ideas like this that give kids the heebie-jeebies, bad
dreams, paranoia and irrational fears. [+] |
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My initial scan thought was that the ball that fired random darts of tactile spiders or snakes. |
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Obviously it would have a range that the kids are ruled to stay in. The play could have increasing difficulty as the agreed range gets smaller. |
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I was thinking of making it jump too. |
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Might be able to do that with a series of foam
pistons
that shoot out. |
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Arranged like a mine. (link) |
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Might comer the whole thing with a foam sphere. |
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And by the way, cats and dogs would go nuts over this
too. |
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I still think the current engineering might not yet be up to the speed and agility of this concept. The distance between ball and player(s) is too larger space. A soccer penalty shot would be the physics envelope. |
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If the ball was foam, a closed room, without all the expensive vases, could be the playing field. |
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I'm looking at a problem between getting the thing to fly
with a mechanism that doesn't poke your eye out of you hold
it up to your eye, as kids are prone to do. |
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I'm looking at a problem between getting the thing to fly
with a mechanism that doesn't poke your eye out of you hold
it up to your eye, as kids are prone to do. |
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Softly padded because black eyes and crying are alright. |
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see last link..... this ball must be avoided at all costs - warning - it's a 1980s horror orb |
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[xenzag link]That's definitely going through the top for such a playful and exercising idea. Although, a warning is a warning and heed must be taken with application and circumstance. |
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Wonder if a tethered version of this would be
easier? |
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Put a stake into the ground and this thing pops out
attached to a rubber band or something? |
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Then you could have the actual ball be very light
and safe and have a motorized mechanism provide
the power without hitting anybody since it's in a
centralized location. |
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Want to really simplify it? Just have a launcher
that randomly shoots foam balls out in all different
directions. After the game pick them up, load it up
again and have another game. |
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It would keep the main thing I like about this, the
crazy faces on the balls. |
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I've been looking for a toy idea that would get kids
away from the video games and TV and out in the
fresh air and sunshine. Maybe this is it. |
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The advertisement would show kids getting out of
the way of the flying foam balls by doing stuff like
this: (link) |
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You'd probably supply eye protection glasses even
though they woudn't be needed. These are soft
foam balls that could hit your eye at point blank
range and do absolutely nothing. You could make
them look like cool Matrixy sun glasses. |
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So a kid sized paddle with one ball strung each side. Some computing gubbins, cameras, motors and logic to do the random rotation around the vertical magic. Could be an energy expensive kinetic artwork. |
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Yea, but would kids play with it? Competing with
video games is a tough task for toymakers these days. |
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//The distance between ball and player(s) is too larger
space.// |
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A workaround for now would be to have the players try to
anticipate where the device will fire in order to get hit.
Obviously there would need to be a 2m or so exclusion zone
next to the device. |
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//would kids play with it?// If the video game, or media platform suggested it, they might follow. Actually, this idea would make a good augmented reality level up on a video game. |
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OK, just occurred to me one way to do this would be as a
variation of those little drones that you can swat around
and play with but there's a problem of perception. |
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It's flying with a spinning propeller and you'd have to have
parents comfortable with a device with a razor sharp
propeller spinning at 5,000 RPM hitting their kid in the
face. Yes, it's incased in a plastic cage but still, it's a
drone hitting them in the face. |
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Probably not the solution. |
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I'm thinking you might just have to stick with rolling.
Then your issue is acceleration. The jumping part seems
the most fun but I suppose if it was darting around fast
enough that might be fun. |
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A light ball with flick panels like [neutrinos_shaow]'s example would be best but it still need to orientate onto one of the panels to control direction. A couple of C02 fizz charge capsules. |
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A heavier magnetic ball, in the centre of the toy, could be drawn above the flick panel making that panel ready to fire. Making the ball go to other panels first would orientate the spring direction. |
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