The rugby ball with a built-in REFEREE: Smart ball fitted with electromagnetic sensor works out if a player has scored a try
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Rugby referees will soon be able to know when a team has scored a try, even if the ball is under a crowd of players.
Scientists have developed technology to track a ball's precise location using low-frequency magnetic fields, when it is otherwise blocked from view.
A low-frequency transmitter is placed inside the ball and antennas around the pitch receive signals from the transmitter to monitor its every move.
Taking rugby into the 21st century: Technology is being developed (pictured) to track a ball's precise location using low-frequency magnetic fields when it is otherwise blocked from view
ADIDAS' SMART FOOTBALL MAKES YOU A BETTER STRIKER
Built-in sensors in the Adidas Smart Ball monitor how hard it is struck, tracks flight trajectories and reveals impact points for penalties and corners.
It syncs with the firm's miCoach app via Bluetooth, and helps players learn and master various kicking and control skills.
The £250 ($299/€ 299) ball is on sale now in the U.S and Europe from Adidas and Apple stores and comes with a wireless charger.
Elsewhere on the miCoach Smart Ball app, the dedicated training section features tutorials to help master more advanced techniques, including the 'knuckleball'.
American researchers at North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, have begun tests in American Football matches.
And Dr David Ricketts, lead researcher and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at NCSU, said it's ready for other sports.
'This would work in rugby, as well as other sports - it's just a matter of designing the right transmitter and making it robust for the specific sport,' said Dr Ricketts.
'Low frequency magnetic fields don't interact very strongly with the human body, so they are not affected by the players on the field or the stadium environment.
'This is part of what makes our new approach effective.'
Researchers at North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, have begun tests in American Football matches (aerial during trial, pictured)
Hi-tech tries: A low-frequency transmitter is placed inside the ball and antennas around the pitch receive signals from the transmitter and track its location (diagram pictured)
The research team, in collaboration with Disney, designed and built the lightweight transmitter and integrated it into an American football.
At present, there are no plans to use it for the National Football League, but Dr Ricketts said Disney's ownership of sport broadcasters ESPN provided a possible avenue for their work to be used in the future.
He added: 'Our goal is to get the precision down to half the length of a football, which is the estimated margin of error for establishing the placement of the football using eyesight alone.'
The research team, in collaboration with Disney, designed and built the lightweight transmitter and antennas (pictured). At present, there are no plans to use it for the National Football League, but Dr Ricketts said Disney's ownership of sport broadcasters ESPN provided a possible avenue for their work to be used in the future
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