Echo Bounce
Equipment for Athletes with Disabilities
Description
In my bachelor thesis, I worked on the development of tennis balls that are tailored to the special needs of visually impaired and totally blind tennis players. The Echo Bounce balls that have been developed allow tennis clubs to produce the blind tennis balls themselves using the 3D printing process or have them produced in workshops for disabled people. The balls that are currently available are produced exclusively in Japan, have a delivery time of about 6 months, and are of poor quality. The ability to produce in-house provides freedom to produce these special balls on demand as needed. Echo Bounce balls consist of a progressively scalable support structure, which gives them their bounce and adaptability. This allows them to be produced in any size, hardness and colour desired. Athletes can use the differentiation training to perform exercises tailored to their athletic skills and needs.