The official ‘Al Rihla’ soccer ball used in Qatar’s World Cup is so highly engineered that it needs to be charged as well as inflated.
Manufactured by Adidas, the ball takes its name from the Arabic word for ‘journey’ and has built-in sensors that measure data such as speed and direction, allowing VAR to track the ball and make offside calls. to
An incredible photo posted on Reddit shows fluorescent balls being charged by a smartphone-like power board before a match.
Gone are the days when people hunted around for a bike pump and inflated a soccer ball with a little oil or butter on the little needle attached to it.
The sensor is powered by a small battery that, according to Adidas, lasts 6 hours with active use and up to 18 days without use.
Weighing just 14 grams, the sensor tracks the ball in real time and positions cameras around the pitch to help referees make offside and other questionable decisions.
Maximillian Schmidt, co-founder and managing director of KINEXON, who manufactured the sensor, said, ‘Any time the ball is kicked, headed, thrown or even so much as tapped, the system picks it up at 500 frames per second,’
‘Data is sent in real time from sensors to a local positioning system (LPS), which involves a setup of network antennas installed around the playing field that take in and store the data for immediate use.
Schmidt said, giving fascinating insight into the incredible technology.
‘When a ball flies out of bounds during the course of play, and a new ball is thrown or kicked in to replace it, KINEXON’s backend system automatically switches to the new ball’s data input without the need for human intervention,’
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