Adidas' smart ball will not be used at World Cup
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-06 09:16

It contains a microchip -- around 1.5-cm in size -- which sends out a radio signal when the ball crosses the touchline, as if it had touched an electric fence.

That signal is relayed by up to 12 antennae positioned in the corners of the pitch to a computer which then sends a message to a watch worn on the referee's wrist in less than one second.

Linsi said the plan would be to test the ball again, pending approval from the International Board, the game's rule-making body.

"I think that after the first experiment, the system as a system and the idea as an idea was positively received (by International Board members)" Linsi said.

"(But) the players don't just touch the ball, they hit it, and the ball goes on to hit the bar. The chip must stay in the middle of the ball and give a signal to a watch in a second.

"This is more complicated than people think. The technology must be sophisticated and reliable. They are the two challenges."

The World Cup begins in Munich on June 9, with the final in Munich on July 9.