You've probably seen inflatable footballs, but have you ever encountered a ball that requires charging? Beyond relying on traditional visual VAR systems to assist referees in making decisions, the match balls used in World Cup games have also undergone significant upgrades.The official match ball for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico has been upgraded to a "chargeable version" and equipped with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor inside its body. This system serves as the most advanced "invisible referee" on the field, capable of improving offside and goal determination accuracy to millimeter precision.

In Sweden's group-stage match against Tunisia, this small IMU sensor played a pivotal role. When Swedish player Svanberg scored, the linesman initially raised the flag indicating offside for the attacking team. However, after reviewing the data, VAR confirmed that the built-in IMU in the ball had accurately detected Isaac's extremely slight touch on the ball. Using this data, the system recalibrated the timing of the pass and ultimately ruled the goal valid. With an IMU, the ball can autonomously "detect" the moment it is touched, ensuring zero error in refereeing decisions.

IMU: The "Sports Recorder" of Football

 The official match ball for the FIFA World Cup in Mexico, USA and Canada is named "TRIONDA," equipped with an IMU sensor that collects 500 data points per second to accurately measure key parameters such as acceleration, rotational speed, and contact timing in three-dimensional space. This data is transmitted in real time to the VAR system, which, combined with high-speed cameras deployed around the field, creates a comprehensive 3D model of the playing area. In essence, not only do referees monitor the game, but the football itself continuously "records" all on-field dynamics.

From the initial introduction of IMU chips at the 2022 Qatar World Cup to this edition's "Triple Wave" update, which relocated sensors from the ball's center to the inner layer of the surface and optimized weight distribution, IMU technology has continued to evolve. In the FIFA World Cup held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, IMU chips are no longer suspended centrally but embedded within a dedicated inner layer of one of the four panels, installed laterally. To compensate for this asymmetric mass distribution, each of the remaining three panels incorporates counterweight blocks, thereby reducing the complexity of the mechanical suspension system while enhancing data transmission accuracy and enabling VAR to make offside calls more rapidly.

From football fields to countless industries: the versatile applications of IMUs

Precise officiating decisions on the field represent merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to IMU applications. From laboratory settings to every aspect of daily life, this tiny sensor has long transcended sports fields to become a core component in the era of intelligence, empowering diverse mobile scenarios.

Embodied Intelligence: The "Master of Balance" That Walks Steadily and Safely

In the field of robotics, the IMU is the core sensor for achieving attitude balance control and spatial positioning. It is typically deployed on the robot's head, torso, shoulders, chassis, and other locations to measure attitude data at high frequency, calculating the robot's pitch angle, roll angle, and yaw angle in real time to provide essential feedback for balance control.

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AGV: The "Navigator" of Smart Factories

In smart factories and warehousing logistics systems, the IMU serves as the critical sensor enabling autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) to achieve precise navigation. When operating in complex environments, AGVs frequently encounter unstable or even completely lost GPS signals. By measuring the vehicle's acceleration and angular velocity, the IMU continuously provides positioning data even in signal dead zones.

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Drone: Can "fly freely" even without GPS

When drones fly into dense forests, traverse canyons, or enter urban building spaces, satellite positioning signals often become interrupted or interfered with. In such scenarios, the IMU serves as the drone's "eyes" and "compass." By integrating data from multiple sensors—including IMU, visual systems, and LiDAR—the drone can continuously estimate its 3D pose even in GPS-denied environments.

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From precise officiating decisions on the World Cup field to autonomous navigation of self-driving vehicles, and further to posture stabilization of various robots—IMUs are expanding from specialized domains into diverse industries. LINS Technology is contributing China's expertise to this wave of IMU industrialization through solid technological accumulation and continuous product innovation.

The World Cup is still ongoing, and the story of IMU is far from over. Follow LINS Technology to witness every step of China's inertial navigation technology going global!