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On July 24, the XXXII Summer Olympic Games begin in Tokyo. Trends have collected eight technological innovations that they will be remembered for
The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place back in 2020, but they were postponed due to the pandemic. The influence of the latter is still felt: all participants and spectators are checked for the presence of coronavirus, sanitary restrictions are introduced at stadiums, and most competitions will be held without spectators. In total, $15,4 billion was spent on organizing the games, of which $900 million was spent on security measures in connection with the coronavirus.
Robots
Especially for the Olympic Games, Toyota has developed several robots that will replace some of the staff. It will also help reduce the number of contacts to fight COVID-19.
The most important of them are the Olympic mascots Miraitova and Someichi. The simplest versions can move their limbs, head and torso, as well as wink.
More advanced version – T-HR3 – moves independently using built-in sensors on the robot and accelerometers on the operator’s shoes, sending signals to the robot. It can greet visitors by making gestures in sync with Miraitov’s small robot, and can also replace promoters at events.
T-TR1, developed by the Research Institute in the USA, is a robot that will allow you to interact virtually with athletes and other participants. The participant is displayed on a large vertical screen, and the built-in camera allows you to communicate with him online.
Delivery Support Robot или DSR — robot waiter and assistant for visitors with limited mobility. It is app controlled and can deliver food and drinks to spectators in wheelchair accessible areas.
His partner Human Support Robot, will help people with disabilities move around, as well as bring and pick up various objects from the floor. This robot will be used during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Robot FSR will help in throwing and shooting competitions. This is a joint development of Toyota and the International Association of Athletics Federations. The robot drives around the field following the volunteer, who puts shells, balls and arrows into it.
Exoskeletons
Panasonic subsidiary Atoun will provide Tokyo with an exoskeleton that looks more like a wearable robot.
It weighs less than 5 kg and helps to carry heavy loads without injuring the back and joints. A sensor is installed at the bottom of the frame, which determines the person’s posture in order to distribute the load. Compact motors help you lift, pull or push loads while strengthening your shoulders and hips. Additional inclination sensors at the waist evaluate movements while walking and turn off the motor to save energy.
Initially Y Atoun was intended for movers, farmers and couriers who lift weights daily. But not so long ago, exoskeletons began to be used at sporting events, where personnel have to carry heavy shells and equipment.
Unmanned shuttles
Another “Olympic” development of Toyota is an unmanned electric bus e-Palette. It will transport athletes and personnel between sports venues and residences.
The e-Palette can accommodate up to 20 passengers, or four in wheelchairs plus seven standing up, and is capable of traveling 150 km on a single charge. Although this is a drone, an operator will ride in the cabin in case of a breakdown. The seats and handrails can be resized to suit the height of passengers and wheelchairs.
As part of the anti-covid measures, antiviral coatings have been used inside and there is continuous air circulation. To reduce stress levels for passengers, the shuttles include relaxing music and lighting. They move smoothly and do not accelerate more than 32 km / h.
The Just-in-Time Mobility OS and the Autonomous Mobility Management System (AMMS) are responsible for the schedule and routes of the unmanned shuttles. They automatically distribute buses so as not to create queues and quickly deliver everyone.
Eco-friendly Nike gear
For Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, Nike made uniforms and shoes from recycled materials. For example, running shoes Nike Air Max 75% consists of industrial waste. The equipment itself at the end of the games can also be sent for recycling.
Face recognition
Facial recognition cameras will be installed at all competition venues, including the Olympic Village. They will be used to identify participants, organizers and fans – instead of regular passes or IDs.
First of all, this will help speed up the movement of athletes between venues – there will be no unnecessary checks and technical delays. In addition, the organizers expect that the contactless identification method will be safer in a pandemic.
The system works on the basis of technology NeoFace Watch from NEC, which has already been tested at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. NeoFace Watch is based on a neural network that can recognize faces with 99,7% accuracy in different lighting conditions, at different angles, and even in a mask or sunglasses. It takes just 1,6 seconds to check 0,3 million faces. The technology also makes it possible to measure temperature remotely.
The company promised that all personal data that NeoFace Watch will deal with will be securely protected and deleted from the database immediately after the end of the games. The system uses cloud servers based on Intel processors.
5G
For the smooth operation of the face recognition system, as well as online broadcasts, drones, AR and VR services, you will need high-speed Internet. Therefore, the games deployed 5G network with the participation of Intel.
With its help, digital twins of sports arenas will also work, which will allow you to follow the competitions online from different points. Considering that spectators will not be allowed to many competitions, speed and picture quality are especially important here.
For those involved in the implementation of the 5G standard, the Olympic Games will be a long-awaited chance to demonstrate the full power and possibilities of the new technology. So far, due to the pandemic, the distribution of the new standard is not going as actively as planned.
3D tracking of athletes
3D Array Technology LLC (3DAT) is another Intel technology. It allows you to track the positions of athletes in 3D in order to fix the finish time more accurately.
3DAT is based on computer vision technology. With its help, elements of augmented reality are superimposed on the video, such as the name and surname of the athlete, running speed and finish time.
Parallel Advertising
Tokyo uses technology that allows different banners to be shown simultaneously during the competition, depending on which country the spectators are in.
This technology has already been used during Euro 2020 at several football matches. Up to four different banners are shown on LED screens simultaneously for different audiences. Moreover, the audience does not notice this both at the match itself and during the broadcast: TV cameras are synchronized with the screens and remove unnecessary frames, leaving only the necessary frame stream.
This is especially true for local brands – Asian, European, American. They can buy accommodation only for domestic viewers, which is much cheaper. This technology is used by European developers Supponor and AGS, and Mirriad offers an AI platform for integrating various commercials into movies and series.