A Penn State inventor brought the world’s first double Dutch machine to Philly
At 8 years old, Tahira Reid Smith drew the one thing she wished she owned: A double Dutch machine in never-ending motion.
As an only child growing up in the Bronx, Reid Smith dreamed of enabling someone to endlessly enjoy the the high-intensity jump-roping game.
“Jumping double Dutch is like being a part of a club,” Reid Smith said. “It’s culture. It’s a part of our history. It’s part of our heritage.”
For her school’s drawing competition, the then-third grader sketched two poles with three push buttons, and a girl jumping in the middle. Her drawing won first place in the competition, but decades later, she brought the invention she dreamed of as a child to life.
Nearly 40 years after submitting her class drawing, the mechanical engineer and Pennsylvania State University professor showcased a prototype of the world’s first automated double Dutch machine in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Reid Smith traveled from State College to bring the prototype of Jump Dreams to Awbury Park for Double Dutch Day, a community event led by Philly Girls Jump.
“It was important to be here,” Reid Smith said. “I love Philly Girls Jump’s mission, and what they are doing.”
It was another class project that rekindled her interest in double Dutch. While she was studying at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1997, her late professor Burt Swersey, who served with her as co-inventor of the machine, tasked her with a design class assignment that focused on sports and recreational activities.
It was then she thought about the double Dutch machine for the first time since making the sketch. After a long development, she has a prototype.
At Double Dutch Day, hundreds of participants, ranging vastly in age and skill, met at Awbury Park’s tennis courts to jump rope, dance, and enjoy local vendors.
Others stopped by Reid Smith’s booth to try out the app-controlled double Dutch machine.
Swan Fleming said, after a friend pointed her to the machine, “Well, I have to try it out.”
Fleming, who traveled from Atlanta to attend Saturday’s event, said the ropes moved a bit slower than she was accustomed to. But within seconds, she adjusted to the synchronized arms that whipped the beaded rope in motion.
“I think it’s great because sometimes it’s hard to find a good turner,” Fleming said. “And turners really matter. I think it’s awesome that this was so invented.”
Sarina Hudson, who jumped in to experience the mechanized double Dutch for herself, said it requires added skill to get comfortable.
“[The experience] was different,” the North Philly native said. “I’m used to turners who can adjust, but you had to adjust yourself.”
Hudson said she could see the invention being inside people’s homes, including her own.
“I want to see if I can buy it,” she said.
While the machine is not for sale, Reid Smith said the goal of having participants like Hudson and Fleming try out Jump Dreams was to get feedback for future iterations of the machine that could become widely available.
Among the current design’s challenges is the use of double-handed arms, which can lead to off-rhythm turns.
Reid Smith said a new version of her evolving invention, which she first constructed in 2000, will be easier to use for jumpers of varying skill. Not just experienced double Dutch athletes.
“The next design iteration is going to work out the kinks that we learned, and all the imperfections,” Reid Smith said. “The next iteration will make it so novices can do this.”
She’s hoping to launch the new design as part of a larger marketing push under her company Jump Dreams Inc. by February 2027.
Reid Smith said the aim is to place the double Dutch machine in schools, recreational facilities, and youth development centers. But she’s not ruling out other possibilities.
For now, she’s continuing to build up her early access list, expand her professional network, and market the forthcoming product at events like Double Dutch Day.
