Design Notebook
10-15-04
Water balloon launchers of our major competitors:
-generally simple rubber-band designs
-brag about distance achieved (200+ meters!)
-little emphasis on accuracy
-virtually no “catapult” or “trebuchet” type designs
-most of the launchers are sling-based
-one model is actually an air-powered cannon that shoots several balloons at once
-not many “themed” launchers
-most launchers require more than one person to operate
-launchers seem to shoot balloons dangerously far
Useful places to find launchers –
Amazon.com
Toys R Us Department Store
KB Toys
Many other privately owned online toy companies
From research evidence, it appears that there is little on the market in terms of catapult-style balloon launchers. In fact, there are not many mechanical launchers designed to throw balloons at all. Most of our major competitors use bands that pull back and launch the balloon. There are many advantages and disadvantages of this product design. Several of the advantages include launching a balloon at a distance of 100 to 200 meters with relative ease. The materials used in such launchers are extremely lightweight, and are cheap to buy. However, there are many disadvantages. The age group that we are targeting would not generally able to use these types of launchers. Typically, two people are required to hold ends of a double-band, while one person pulls back the bands to create potential energy. Such launchers are difficult for smaller children to use because of this. Another disadvantage is that there must be at least three people to operate it. Such launchers brag about distance, but in reality, there is little accuracy involved. Because of this, many balloons may fly out of a reasonable target area and cause unwanted results.
