Soccer Ball that Plays Referee Wins Award

If you watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and supported England, then you’d definitely remember how one of their goals against Germany (which was legal) was eventually disallowed due to referee error. Mexican studio Agent is all set to solve such problems. In fact their invention has won them the Red Dot concept award.

Citric football

What’s it all about? Well, this ball is no ordinary one, the Ctrus is a super high-tech, sensor-enabled soccer ball that lights up in different colors when it’s tossed out of bounds, scores a goal or falls into the crosshairs of a foul. The ball also has a camera and speed and positioning sensors that would add some statistical heft to the actual movements of the game.

Don’t blow me!

The ball, which is just a concept, works by putting in many RFID and GPS chips in a basic structure. This structure is covered by a reinforced-elastic mesh which has the same bounce of a standard soccer ball but doesn’t require air.

The RFID and GPS chip network

If the concept actually works, it certainly helps in making right (and important) decisions. Of course it cannot really replicate human referees (we’ve seen “errors” happening off the ball too) but if there’s a camera attached to the ball it will help in awarding or disallowing critical goals.