Abby Brammell

By Laura Williamson

Licensed to thrill: England's Jermain Defoe with the ball developed at Loughborough


Stepping into the Sports Technology Institute at Loughborough University is like entering Q's laboratory. It looks like something straight out of James Bond, but the reality is far more exciting than any fictional film.

This is where adidas's 2010 World Cup ball, the Jabulani, was developed.

In the corner lurks the iRobot, a £40,000 yellow limb that can replicate human cycling, walking or running. Only two people have a key to the machine and £40,000-worth of security protects it - from itself. The robot is strong enough to break down the walls of its enclosure.

In another Perspex cage is the kicking robot. It is accurate to within fractions of a millimetre and can replicate the same kicking motion 600 times a day at more than 100mph.

The University's Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering houses a £250,000 wind tunnel. The ball is held by a steel shaft in gusts of 70mph to assess how wind affects its movement and rotation.

The idea was to give the player maximum control. Dr Andy Harland and his team - including 27-year-old Dave Rogers, who is writing a PhD on the subject - spent two years researching the aerodynamics of a football.

England are training with the ball at their Austrian camp and have voiced the usual concerns about its movement and speed in the air, but Dr Harland insists it is fairer than predecessors. 'We're hoping you won't see a poor player take a pot-shot from 35 yards and get lucky,' he said.


source: dailymail