The Play Rebounder

Abstract: The purpose of this project was to create an object that improves the performances of football players, preferably on all levels, be it professionals or amateurs. The main theme was science and technology, to explore how they together can be used to accomplish this task. The project consisted of doing research on site at amateur football clubs, which included observations of training sessions as well as interviews with managers and players. This was combined with market research and scientific journal texts, along with personal experience and knowledge of playing the game. The main focus point of the re- search was the science of practice and performance; to find out what abilities are relevant and how they might be practised more effectively through the use of technological aid. Either through effectivizing the practice routine itself or through measuring and assessing the performance retrospectively. The brainstorming and idea generation were based on combining personal experience, research gathered from the internet as well as the observations and interviews at the football clubs. The ideation consisted mainly of sketching, as well as small scale test models. The end result is a concept of a rebounder, a practise tool, which incorporates added interactivity and performance feedback in the form of an impact detection system and an accompanying microcontroller and display. The concept is based partly on feedback from the discussions with managers and players, as well as inspired by science highlighting the importance of mental functions for perfoming in the game. A full scale model was built. The model showcases the physical mechanics, such as ball rebound, angling, folding and overall handling of the rebounder, while the technological side of the rebounder was illustrated through renderings.