FC Wacker uses MCI invention for goalkeeper training

Mechatronics students at the Entrepreneurial School® develop soccer ball machine for training of the prominent First League soccer team FC Wacker Innsbruck

Within the scope of a practical research cooperation between Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) and FC Wacker Innsbruck, and under the supervision of MCI project manager Bernhard Hollaus, the MCI students Andreas Maex and Wolfgang Türtscher have developed a soccer ball machine, which is now going to be used for the goalkeeper training of the Austrian top of the league soccer team.

The innovative soccer ball machine can shoot balls at a distance of up to 70 meters and a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour, which corresponds to the actual shooting power of trained adults. You can thus repeatedly simulate soccer kicks under realistic conditions and, first and foremost, with a high level of accuracy and in a consistent manner. The machine should now be used in the training of the first league team and the training of young athletes. Its design allows for the additional use of smaller balls and therefore also enables the talented young athletes of FC Wacker to practice crosses, free kicks, or any type of shots on goal.

The soccer ball machine, which was developed as part of a project sponsored by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, is currently still in its testing phase. A training session with Fuad Djulic, Goalkeeping Coach of FC Wacker Innsbruck, has already given new impulses for the continuation of the cooperation: a follow-up project to the improvement and possible serial production of the present soccer ball machine is being planned. In the future, the soccer ball machine should allow for wireless operation via tablet; a camera should moreover identify the position of the goal and the goalkeeper, and thus enable the perfect placement of a ball shot as well as the simulation of different levels of difficulty.

Statements

Klaus Schmidt, Coach of FC Wacker Innsbruck: “We are happy to cooperate with MCI on the development of such a soccer ball machine. We have already been able to get an impression of the machine’s performance in several training sessions. In the future, we intend to continue our exchange with MCI students and researchers in order to develop the machine further and to make sure that it can be used in daily training.”

Fuad Djulic, Goalkeeping Coach of FC Wacker Innsbruck: “We are utterly satisfied with the development of the soccer ball machine. Together with supervisors and students of MCI we have already identified areas with potential for improvement. We continuously aim to improve our training methods and can only profit from such innovative technologies. I therefore hope that, in cooperation with MCI, we will be able to transform the present prototype to a machine which can be used for trainings every day.”

Bernhard Hollaus, Project Manager and Researcher at the MCI Department for Mechatronics: “The engineering programs of the Entrepreneurial School® provide valuable input to innovative ideas and projects on subjects from industry and society. One of our biggest concerns is to generate practical know-how and to introduce students as early as possible to the development of innovative solutions. The cooperation with FC Wacker Innsbruck here constitutes an ideal opportunity. We are delighted to be able to support the Tyrolean traditional club with our work.”

For further information visit

FC Wacker Innsbruck
Bachelor program in Mechatronics
Master program in Mechatronics & Smart Technologies

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