Engineering a Better Football
Posted on December 28, 2009 Comments (5)
The football (soccer ball) for the 2010 FIFA World Cup features completely new, ground-breaking technology. Eight 3-D spherically formed panels are moulded together, harmoniously enveloping the inner carcass. The result is an energetic unit combined with perfect roundness.
Aero grooves create the clearly visible profile on the ball’s surface. The Grip’n’Groove profile circles around the entire ball in an optimal aerodynamic way. The integrated grooves provide unmatched flight characteristics, making this the most stable and most accurate Adidas football. The ground breaking performance features have been confirmed in comprehensive comparison tests at Loughborough University in England and countless checks in wind tunnel and the Adidas football laboratory in Scheinfeld, Germany.
The process, shown in the video, for manufacturing the footballs is way more complicate than I thought it would be.
Related: Full Adidas press release – The Science of the Football Swerve – Engineering Basketball Flop – Sports Engineering
Categories: Engineering, Products, Sports, Students
Tags: Engineering, engineering webcasts, innovation, manufacturing, Products, Sports
5 Responses to “Engineering a Better Football”
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December 31st, 2009 @ 3:46 pm
Why are they stuck in a machine at the end when they are being inflated? Just incase they explode? I ddin’t know it was this complex just to make a soccer er football.
January 11th, 2010 @ 8:05 am
[…] The Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog has a feature on how Engineers, in advance of the 2010 World Cup, are trying to build a better soccer ball… err… football. […]
January 19th, 2010 @ 12:09 am
I love this video. Amazing how much the ball has developed over the years. From the old medicine ball, to todays incredibly dynamic balls which glide through the air. I recall the 1994 World cup is where the aero-dynamics of the ball were first dramatically improved, and each year they keep producing them to move faster.
January 20th, 2010 @ 9:16 pm
It’s amazing to learn the effort and engineering technology that goes into the process of making footballs these days. This page was at the top of my search and i’m glad it’s given me the insight into the subject i was looking for. Thank you.
October 3rd, 2010 @ 2:18 pm
[…] Teen Goalie Designs Camouflage Pads – Engineering a Better Football – Randomization in Sports – Baseball Pitch Designed in the Lab by curiouscat […]