Claire Rafferty, the Chelsea and England left-back, thumps the ball goalward, prompting a cheer from a nearby iPad. Crouched over the screen a few seconds later she seems satisfied. "Did I get it over the wall? I'm gonna say yes. Happy with that."
Despite resembling an ordinary football, and having the dubious accolade of being Fifa-approved, the Adidas miCoach Smart Ball contains complex sensors embedded in a tiny "pit", like the stone in a cherry. The pit is suspended at the centre of the bladder by elasticated struts, allowing it to precisely gauge the spin, power and trajectory of the struck ball. Mechanics of this complexity, housed in a casing durable enough to repeatedly withstand the left boot of an international footballer, don't come cheap the ball costs £250 but Rafferty is impressed.
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via Chelsea | The Guardian http://ift.tt/UzMULF
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