The art of invention
How an observation becomes an idea, a sketch and a working prototype. Three accounts from the original Inventor Underground contributors.
Wade Sun: the Compact Disc Eraser
Wade Sun’s illustrated account follows the discovery and development of the DiscEraser.
Read Wade Sun’s development story (PDF) →
Mark Miller: Trangleball
A firsthand account contributed in 2006.
My name is Mark Miller and I'm from Brooklyn New York. My invention is a sport known as "TRANGLEBALL". Please keep in mind... There's no "i" in Trangleball. IT'S A TEAM SPORT".
It was 3am and I was waiting for the final band to finish their rehearsal in my music studio. I picked up a ball and threw it at the corner of the room where the 2 walls meet the ceiling. After throwing it at what was seemingly the exact same spot I noticed that each time the ball was rebounding in a different direction. Sometimes it went left,sometimes right, sometimes up,etc..
It occurred to me that if I prototyped this corner and made it portable it would make a great product to help improve a ball player's reflexes. The following day I sawed a 4x4 piece of plywood from corner to corner( the way my mom used to cut my sandwiches). I then nailed 3 of the 4triangles together resembling a corner. Instead of the ceiling I now had a portable corner with 2 walls and a floor. It worked just as well but I walked over to the prototype and flipped it over. I then realized that I, in fact, built a 3 sided pyramid.
I began to throw the ball at one of the panels but the ball rebounded right back to me. I thought to myself " this is fun but it will not improve ones reflexes as I had hoped.
Then my "AH HA!!!" moment came..... "If I ran 5 steps to the right of the panel that I was throwing the ball at an opponent would have to take 5 steps to the left to catch it." The reflex was back in the concept but now it was a competitive game. After a few hours of playing with my employees I realized that there were 2 other sides that were not being utilized. So then I had 3 games going at once with 1 vs.1 on each panel with a total of 3 balls and 6 players. As time went on I eventually eliminated 2 balls and created a passing game between the players (3vs.3) adjacent to the different panels.
My advice ( for what it's worth) to someone with an idea is to prototype it. It's difficult to build on an idea without something to physically touch and play with. A prototype will build fresh new ideas. Without my first proto I'd still be throwing the ball at the inside corners instead of flipping it on the pyramid side.
Trangleball is now being played on sand,grass and hard court in camps and YMCA's all over the country.
The New York Department of Corrections purchased 10 games from me in the early 90's. I went there to teach inmates and corrections officers on many occasions. The response was great!
Then a recreational student at a university in the Czech Republic did his thesis on Trangleball in 2000. After he received his doctorate in recreation his professors invited me to "The European Sports Conference" in Prague to do a 10 day workshop with 500 recreation educators throughout Europe. It went fantastic and I returned home on 9/4/2001.
Trangleball is now being played in a few Universities in Czech Republic. It's also being played in New Zealand,Japan, France and probably a few countries that I'm unaware of. Although you'll find the game far and in between in these countries,... my goal is to get a stronger following there and in the US over the years. If these invention auditions continue over the years that will increase my odds (and all inventors' odds) of bringing product to the RETAIL market.
PaintPorter: developing a prototype
An illustrated essay about the development of PaintPorter.
Contributors’ accounts and product descriptions reflect their original time.