On social media, viral about Al Rihla, the 2022 World Cup ball appears to be being charged like a smartphone before being used in a match. Are you curious, what are the sophistication of Al Rihla?
Battery
Inside the orb is a sensor that is powered by a battery. Therefore, the ball must be charged and fully charged before playing. According to Adidas, as the supplier of the World Cup ball, the battery can last for six hours when used actively. When not in use, the ball's battery lasts up to 18 days.
SAOT Technology
We quoted from FIFA.com, a new technology called Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) was embedded in Al Rihla. SAOT allows the ball to connect, and this is an important part of helping the referee during the game. The 2022 World Cup will be the first to incorporate this technology into football.
IMU sensors
Inside Al Rihla's body, there is an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) motion sensor. This small sensor weighing 14 grams is made by sensor technology company KINEXON.
Thanks to the 500Hz motion sensor inside, the ball can provide information on the location, impact and movement of every kick and header on the court, even at catch speeds of up to 500 frames per second.
To determine an offside, for example, the ball will send data to the video operational room, telling the ball point precisely. The ball and its sensors are assisted by twelve monitoring cameras in the stadium.
Combining player and ball limb tracking data through artificial intelligence, this new technology automatically alerts if a player receives the ball in an illegal position.
The referee team then manually checks to confirm accuracy before reporting it to the main referee and making a decision.
The immersion of the sensor in the 2022 World Cup ball completely changed the game on the field and really helped the referee, for example in the case of the controversial Japan vs Spain goal.
Best aerodynamics
The 2022 World Cup ball is considered the best in terms of aerodynamics based on the research results of a professor in physics at the University of Lynchburg, United States, John Eric Goff.
Al Rihla is made with water-based inks and glue and contains 20 panels. Eight of these are small triangles with roughly equal sides, and 12 are larger and shaped like ice cream cones.
Instead of using a raised texture to increase surface roughness like the previous ball, the Al Rihla is coated with dimple-like features that make the surface feel relatively smooth compared to its predecessor.
"Roughening the surface of the ball delays the separation of the boundary layers and keeps the ball in the turbulent flow longer. This physical fact, that a rougher ball feels lighter, is the reason why dimpled golf balls fly farther than if they were subtle," explained Goff.
"Every ball used in the World Cup will always have complaints. But science shows Al Rihla will actually feel very familiar to the players," he explained.
Fun Facts
Al Rihla was officially introduced as the official ball for the 2022 World Cup on March 30 2022 with the Adidas brand label. Even though it is listed as a manufacturer, Adidas entrusts Al Rihla to be made in Indonesia, to be precise in Madiun, East Java.
Al Rihla is produced by PT Global Way Indonesia (GWI) in Madiun Regency. The kemlu.go.id page also lists Al Rihla as the official ball for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which is produced in Madiun.
Adidas entrusted GWI to produce the ball. The company has exported its balls to the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil.