One of the world’s oldest and largest sportswear and equipment manufacturers, adidas has partnered with the University since 2002 to advance engineering knowledge that has brought iconic products to market and been translated beyond the global sports sector for wider societal impact.
Drawing on the University’s first-class capabilities in engineering, aerodynamics, ergonomics and sports science, project teams in the School of Design and Creative Arts and the School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering have worked to make sport safer, more accessible and allow people to perform at their best, whilst developing the adidas talent pipeline.
The collaborative research has influenced all adidas major tournament footballs since 2004, enabling innovative enhancements to ball balance, surface texture and aerodynamics. The most iconic footballs used on the international stage have benefited from the research with learnings from ball aerodynamics research translated to advances in automotive vehicle wake flow.