PDQ Speed & Agility Project

I have a patent pending device that is essentially a box that engages the player(s) by forcing reflex actions of speed, and agility. The invention is actually a platform for any number of fun games, and reaction sharpening activities. It is far more dynamic than it sounds because it gives an unexpected spike in the players' pulse, and apparently, very beneficial neuronal activity. Mainstream medical science reports that this type of speed and agility exercise will help provide optimal health, and significantly reduce the progression of both Alzheimer's and dementia.

This can provide, "Excitement on Demand". All the interactions are real, (verses the pretend "virtual" action in video games). It is fun, beneficial, and an athletic indoor sport that allows fair and fun competition between players of different ages, genders, sizes, or strength. For a pennies' worth of electricity you can put a smile on any visitor. 

The working prototype is box like, measures about 2" thick, 30" wide, and 14" top to bottom. It holds 50 ping pong balls. It is hung on the wall at around eye level. Across the bottom are five exit ports controlled by a program that releases, at random, one ball, a pause, then another, (no predictable sequence). There is an adjustment knob to change the speed that the balls exit. Between one to two feet below the "Box", a narrow shelf hangs from two adjustable cords. Once the start sequence is activated, each ball drops, strikes the shelf, then bounces in an upward arc toward the player, who, depending on the game, attempts to catch, net, paddle/hit towards a target, or shoot at, each ball before it can reach the floor. I suppose it'd be along the lines of having a ping pong table or foosball, only with an electronic taskmaster. Man versus machine.

A quality version would be cheap to produce, with most of the force coming from gravity. The components that release the balls are cheap, dependable, and long lasting. The programmed chips are basic low tech. The main body is easy to mold from plastics, or, initially could be CNC'd from EPS foam. Quality would be dependent on experienced  sourcing. Best of all, there is no direct competition. My Non-Provisional Patent Application has been filed, and the recent Office Action reply shows nothing remotely similar.
 
Like several people I've talked to I noticed a little feeling of elation and kind of an afterglow buzz on some occasions when I accidentally knocked something off a shelf and caught it, I guess it was similar to when a friend unexpectedly says, "Think fast",  then throws something towards you to catch, or dodge. There is that spark of reflex action, neural transmitters firing a rapid "fight-or-flight" response that goes way back to your early civilization DNA. (Sure, video games generate similar responses, but I'm talking about using your actual muscles while standing on your feet.) There is almost nothing in the catagory of, "Indoor activity games", only about six requiring speed and agility verses the conservative tabletop game figure (200,000+) and the video game figure (5 million). Playing this is a healthy activity gives you the same brain chemicals dopamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine that cocaine, and amphetamines supply. 

 

From Google "Unexpected, high-stakes reactions (catching items, avoiding accidents) trigger the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal glands. The medulla releases adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline into the bloodstream, immediately accelerating heart rate, widening airways, and redirecting blood to muscles and the brain, your survival instincts take over and bypass the conscious brain to act entirely on reflex.

Such activity releases Dopamine, the feel good chemical produced by accomplishments, sex, drugs, delicious food etc. I knew nothing of this, only the physical feelings I experienced on occasion. I sought to make a device that could replicate the experience, kind like developing a recreational drug that is neither harmful, nor expensive. After several years, and expense that quest has evolved into a game platform that I just recently learned could be of great medical value.

A optional business plan would be to utilize some of the crowdfunding sites. Ideally we pay to manufacture the simple first-generation units and then, with a positive reputation, get paid for subsequent versions before they were even made. If popular, fans of the device will show  how they are using it, and Youtube will actually pay us for ongoing promotion.    https://www.polygon.com/analysis/519488/top-10-kickstarter-campaigns-2024/