In an effort to give the 2014 FIFA World Cup audience a view of the game like they’ve never seen before, Adidas has embedded its soccer balls with six GoPro-style HD cameras each in order to capture 360º action from the distinct viewpoint of being on the pitch.
The balls are custom-engineered to fit the added technology, and feature handmade coverings in colors inspired by traditional Brazilian Bahia wish bands (the World Cup is being held in Brazil this year).
The technology is being referred to as “brazucam,” and in an effort to get fans excited about the tournament’s start (June 12), Adidas has given the ball its own YouTube channel, where a new video is being posted per week that is captured from the ball’s perspective as it travels through various soccer-crazy countries, including Spain, Germany, England, Mexico, and more.
The company has also given the ball its own Twitter handle: @brazuca, if one is so inclined to follow it.
It should be interesting to see how the players react to fielding a ball embedded with so much technology. The last time Adidas re-worked the design of a soccer ball, it was the notorious Jabulani model. Players described the ball as “impossible” to play with, even going so far as to describe its sudden change of direction as being “supernatural.”
The harsh criticism prompted NASA to test the soccer ball at its Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. There, researchers discovered that when a smooth ball with seams flies through the air without spin, the air near the seams is affected, and produces an asymmetric flow. This results in side forces that can suddenly push the ball in one direction and cause volatile swerves and swoops.
Specific to what the players were seeing, when the Jabulani was kicked at speeds higher than 45 to 50 mph, the smooth ball with its outward seams would, in fact, “knuckle.”
No word on how this study affected the design of the Brazuca.
Check out Brazucam’s unique perspective in the video below:
Story via cnet.com
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