Bay Area college students create "pleasant" version of vuvuzela for World Cup fans
A group of East Bay engineering students have created a pleasant way to be a part of the World Cup celebrations in the Bay Area.
Students at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill designed and 3D-printed a new version of the vuvuzela, the loud plastic horn that became infamous during past international soccer tournaments.
The traditional vuvuzela has been loved by some fans and despised by others. This new version is called the "Pleasant Horn."
Ayomi Ikutiminu and other engineering students had just six weeks to design and print the horn. Ikutiminu, who will attend UC Irvine in the fall, even spoke with musicians about how to create a sound that would be less harsh than the vuvuzela.
"Inside of here, there's a balloon, which we used as a diaphragm," Ikutiminu said as he displayed the horn. "It's a lot smaller. This is about ten inches in length. It's not going to sound as loud as the vuvuzela does."
Trish Snowden, CEO of Visit Pleasant Hill, said that was exactly the point.
"It's a very different sound. It's pleasant," Snowden said.
Visit Pleasant Hill partnered with Diablo Valley College to help promote the city as a destination for fans visiting Northern California during the World Cup.
"A lot of these visitors aren't just coming for the game, they're coming to experience Northern California, and the Bay Area. We want to make sure that Pleasant Hill is on their stop," Snowden said.
Students adjusted the design multiple times. The pieces for the first prototype took more than seven hours to print.
"I remember the vuvuzela being obnoxious," said Thom Martin of the Diablo Valley College Foundation. "I love the idea of making something that's a little more pleasant that can be part of a sports experience."
Snowden said the students succeeded.
"The new horn is amazing. They really did their job," she said.
A local 3D-printing company produced 50 of the horns for the city's World Cup kickoff celebration.
"We're just very happy we were able to build something that people can use and people can have fun using this," Ikutiminu said.
Visit Pleasant Hill is also buying tickets for Ikutiminu and some of the other students involved in the project to attend a World Cup game in Santa Clara. They plan to bring their Pleasant Horns into the stadium.
