The iBall: Taking Tennis Technology to a Bright New Level


Ever experienced the frustration of having your recreational match called due to darkness? Now, thanks to the ingenious brainstorming and invention of two NYU-Poly students, those days might possibly be coming to an end.

Julian Salama, an undergraduate in Math and Physics, and Nicolas Begasse de Dhaem, an undergraduate in Civil Engineering, both studying at the famed Polytechnic University of New York, teamed up to design a prototype for a new tennis ball that might change how the traditional game of tennis is played.

The aim of their invention, which they entered into the 2009-2010 Time Warner Cable Inno/Vention Competition, was to produce a tennis ball that could be used in low light conditions, thereby encouraging people to play until later in the evening. The iBall would also allow private clubs to reduce their outdoor lighting – saving power and making play more pleasant. (The cost of electricity and maintenance for a year for a single tennis court ranges from $3,500 to $11,500.)

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