The football at the Paris Olympics actually has a "heart"! Why do we need to implant a chip in the football?

He Liang, a reporter from Science Times

The football matches of the Paris Olympics are going on in an orderly manner. According to media reports, the match ball, which looks no different from an ordinary football, has a powerful "heart" because a chip is implanted in its liner.

Chip assists referee decisions

"The purpose of implanting a chip in a football is to avoid misjudgment caused by inaccurate visual observation by the referee." Fu Ming, a teacher at the School of Physical Education and Training of the Capital Institute of Physical Education and an international football referee, said in an interview with the Science Times that the chip implanted in the liner of the official ball for the Paris Olympic Games football match can perform 500 recognition actions in 1 second. The speed of 500 times per second means that the interval between each data collection is only 2 milliseconds, which greatly improves the accuracy of the football's status and trajectory information.

The chip, in conjunction with the sensor, can not only track and obtain the precise location data of the football, but also detect the subtle movement of the football and transmit the data to the background in real time. The data transmission speed of the sensor is 10 times faster than that of the cameras used in the stadium. By combining with the camera data, it can track the position of the ball and the player's body. When the ball is hit by the player's foot or hand, the internal chip can accurately determine the time and contact point, assisting the referee to judge whether the player has committed fouls such as handball and offside, effectively improving the accuracy and transparency of the referee's judgment of key game actions.

In fact, the Paris Olympics is not the first time that a football with a built-in chip has been used.

This type of football has already appeared on the green field during the 2022 Qatar World Cup and this year's European Cup. According to media reports, during the European Cup group stage, Belgium lost to Slovakia 0:1. Belgian players sent the ball into the goal twice, but the first time the video assistant referee (VAR) system determined that the attacking player was offside, and the second time the chip built into the football recognized the player's handball, and both goals were disallowed.

Chip weight is negligible

Fu Ming said that the built-in chip does not affect the aerodynamic behavior of the ball because the chip is located in the center of the ball and the wires connecting the outer shell do not cause substantial mass asymmetry.

As for the weight of the ball, the football competition rules stipulate that the weight of the ball at the start of the game is about 410-450 grams. "The weight of the chip itself is about 14 grams, which can be ignored. In other words, compared with traditional footballs, the 'chip football' has almost no weight difference and will not affect the speed of the football and the game." Fu Ming said. Before the start of the game, the game ball must undergo strict kicking and pressure tests. Only after all indicators are qualified can it be used on the field.