For the first time ever, FIFA World Cup 2022 has set a record from teams across all continents with advancements to 16 rounds.
But that’s not the only highlight of this year’s World Cup, it’s the extremely advanced technology involved in creating the soccer ball.
What is it, let’s find out!
Hi-tech Soccer Ball First Time Ever
When we think about sports and technology going hand-in-hand, we generally think about cameras or external technology, but nothing directly related to the main sports materials being used on the ground by the players. But if you are one of those crazy soccer fans who have been following the World Cup closely, you might have noticed the soccer balls being charged on the sidelines of the ground.
At first, it might have seemed bizarre, right?
However, there's a good reason that the FIFA committee decided to make the 2022 World Cup soccer balls integrated with advanced technology.
Football with a sensor inside?
The soccer ball of Adidas FIFA World Cup has been integrated with a sensor inside it that measures data such as direction and speed and also allows ball-tracking along with offside calls using VAR.
The sensor FIFA World Cup football is powered by a small battery that is reported to last for six hours while in active use and almost up to 18 days when not in use.
Gaga over the Tech Football
This extremely advanced sensor football came into the limelight when it was seen that Bruno Fernandes scored a goal instead of Cristiano Ronaldo during the match between Uruguay and Portugal. Prior to this, during the World Cup matches, no one had the slightest clue about this advanced soccer ball.
Recently, a photo went viral on social media, revealing the soccer balls being charged just like a laptop; from a power board before a match.
Ball-tracking During Game
The sensor in the soccer ball weighs just 14 grams and provides ball-tracking during the game along with cameras which are positioned around the pitch, thus helping referees to determine offsides and other important decisions.
Who are the creators of this hi-tech soccer ball?
It had been reported that KINEXON - the manufacturer of the sensor integrated in the balls, spent almost six years creating and testing the sensor. Every ball actually is said to have a device with two sensors, each of which served a different purpose.
One of them is an ultra-wideband (UWB) sensor that is said to be more accurate than Bluetooth or GPS. The Second sensor is an inertial measurement unit (IMU), that gives a granular look on how the ball moves on the ground or any space.
Any time a soccer ball is kicked or touched at the World Cup matches, the sensors start firing away instantly and pick data at 500 frames per second. This data is then instantly transmitted to the local positioning system (LPS) that is installed around the football field, thus storing information for immediate use.
Pakistan's Sialkot city manufactured over 70% of the world's footballs, as per reports.
As per records, it took Adidas three years to manufacture these balls to be used in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
With all the technological advances and amazing match-offs, the FIFA World Cup 2022 final will be played on December 18.
Excited?
So are we!
