After more than four years of waiting, the soccer competition par excellence is finally back. The one that every player dreams of playing in and every fan imagines winning. The World Cup, lifted by many legends and longed for by many others, is back in play in Qatar.
This World Cup will bring several technological innovations. In this Befree blog post we will discuss the five breakthrough technologies at the World Cup in Qatar. From temperature regulation to chips embedded in the ball.
1- Bonocle and Feelix Palm: guaranteed accessibility
Let’s start with accessibility. A spectacle like the World Cup, held every four years and bringing together the best soccer players on the planet, cannot have barriers. Everyone, absolutely everyone, has the right to enjoy the football festival.
This will not be the case in Qatar, but at least technology has done its bit. One of the groundbreaking technologies at the Qatar World Cup will be Bonocle and Feelix Palm. The first will allow visually impaired people to access digital content. It is the first entertainment platform in braille in the world. It has transcoding functionalities to help visually impaired people enjoy and experience the 2022 World Cup events like everyone else.
On the other hand, Feelix Palm will enable braille-like messages to be transmitted to visually impaired people without restricting their physical movement or hearing through tactile communicators on the palm.
2- ElPalm: sustainable energy
The World Cup organizers wanted to provide spectators with comfort without sacrificing their commitment to the environment. Thus, what is known as ‘ElPalm‘ is another of the groundbreaking technologies at the World Cup in Qatar,
Each of the stadiums will be equipped with ‘ElPalm’. It is a wind turbine with solar panels that will not only offer shade to fans, but will also provide them with access to USB charging ports and Wi-Fi. In this way, connectivity and well-being will be guaranteed at this tournament.
3- ‘Dr Cool’: coolness in the desert
This World Cup was set in the months of November and December to avoid heat peaks. However, temperatures are still likely to reach 30 degrees Celsius. To bring the temperature down to a range of between 18 and 24 degrees, the stadiums have been equipped with cooling technology. Both fans and players will have a more comfortable space.
The system has been developed by Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani, nicknamed ‘Dr Cool’, from the Faculty of Engineering at Qatar University. It uses a combination of insulation and ‘targeted cooling‘, as sensors will adjust airflows for seats in the shade or sun. The hot air will be sucked through the stadium’s cooling system, cleaned by water, cooled again, filtered and pumped out again.
4- Al Rihla: the ball of the future
One of the most cherished moments for fans at each World Cup is discovering which ball will be used. This year’s ball will be the Al Rihla, and it includes another of the groundbreaking technologies at the Qatar World Cup inside.
Al Rihla will be equipped with the Adidas Suspension System, which contains an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor that can detect tight offsides. This sensor, located in the center of the ball, sends data to the video operations room at a rate of 500 times per second. This enables highly accurate detection of the kicking point, providing novel statistical data of what is happening on the field. Las cinco tecnologías más innovadoras del mundial Qatar 2022 – TyN Magazine
