Mexican studio Agent has designed a concept for a transparent football that changes colour when it passes over the goal line.
What Agent claims would be the world's first see-through football would employ sensors that detect kick force and travel speed, plus provide GPS information to track the exact position of the ball.
Electronic components embedded in its centre would communicate information gathered from the sensors to control stations in the stadium.
As the ball would be locatable relative to the pitch, lights in its core could be programmed to change colour if it goes out of bounds or into the goal.
A stabilised on-board camera could relay a ball's eye view to the screens around the stadium.
The ball is designed in a flexible plastic, which would allow it to bounce in the same way as a standard design. "The flexibility provided by the materials emulates the bounce of an inflated pneumatic soccer ball, but offers the advantage of not losing air," said the designers.
An internal web would provide the structure and a transparent spherical shell full of holes would form the kicking surface. This composition means the ball wouldn't rely on air or need re-inflating after use.
We've also featured Nike's ultra-light football boot featuring components made from beans and recycled plastic and news that a stadium in Brazil is to be equipped with a solar-powered roof for next year's FIFA World Cup.
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