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Tech dazzles at Rio 2016

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 22 Aug 2016
From virtual reality to SMS, this year's Games connected people with the action in new, innovative ways.
From virtual reality to SMS, this year's Games connected people with the action in new, innovative ways.

As the curtain came down on Rio 2016 yesterday, old and new technologies used during the 2016 Summer Olympics also took a bow.

From virtual reality (VR) to SMS, this year's games connected people with the action in innovative, immersive ways.

Funding a host of new technologies at the Games, about 20% of the Rio 2016 budget went towards the technology infrastructure and a lot of that ensured a sturdy communications infrastructure. On the payments front, Visa and Brazilian bank Bradesco trialled wearables, including a bracelet equipped with near-field communications (NFC) technology for payments at the Olympic Games.

One of the main innovations introduced for the Rio Games was the photofinish technology by Omega. The cameras capture images of athletes as soon as they cross the finish line - the new release of the technology, the camera Scan 'O' Vision MYRIA, captures better quality images, around 10 0000 digital photos in a vertical line per second.

Advanced innovations

At the 2016 Olympics, VR technology also made its mark. Top broadcasters like NBCUniversal and BBC provided viewers with hundreds of hours of VR footage during the Games. Taking advantage of the occasion, Korean electronics company Samsung partnered with NBCUniversal and the Olympic Broadcasting Services to distribute the first VR Olympic broadcast of select events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, diving, basketball, track and field, and gymnastics.

During the closing ceremony yesterday, Nintendo character Mario was shown jumping into a pipe in Japan before popping out in the Rio stadium in the form of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. This drew a delighted reaction from fans on social media and appeared to give Nintendo shares a lift. The stock jumped as much as 3.5% in Tokyo, well ahead of a small increase in the benchmark Nikkei index.

Four balloons with high resolution cameras were also launched to support security for the Rio Games. Developed by Brazilian manufacturer Altave, the devices sent images produced by the 13 cameras installed internally in real-time to the Centre for Integrated Regional Command and Control, co-ordinated by the army.

For the first time at an Olympic Games, all athletes in Rio had access to electronic medical records to enable more efficient care.
For the first time at an Olympic Games, all athletes in Rio had access to electronic medical records to enable more efficient care.

Electronics company GE equipped the Olympic Games Polyclinic with advanced medical imaging technologies - including a wide range of digital imaging equipment such as MRIs, X-ray and ultrasound machines - allowing medical practitioners and trainers to determine an earlier and more accurate diagnosis and recovery plan for Olympians in Rio.

For the first time at an Olympic Games, all athletes in Rio had access to electronic medical records to further enable more efficient care.

There were also innovations introduced within the technology running behind the scenes. Core portals supporting key aspects of the Games such as volunteer activities and credential management were hosted in the cloud for the first time.

Stand-out technology

Arthur Goldstuck, World Wide Worx MD, comments that the most impressive technologies are those that people take for granted, because they are so well-integrated into the proceedings. The more fuss is made about a technology for its own sake, the more likely it is to disappoint, he notes.

He believes the stand-out technology, for sports fans around the world, was the extent to which Olympic results, schedules and statistics were integrated into Google searches on the Olympics.

"This kind of seamless natural language searching will be augmented over time by machine learning, to the extent where search replaces news sites as the prime source of sports information. Behind the scenes, the use of medical imaging technology for athlete diagnostics, treatment and training has probably resulted in the best-prepared athletes ever, and this will keep advancing rapidly."

One of the main innovations introduced for the Rio Games was the photofinish technology by Omega.
One of the main innovations introduced for the Rio Games was the photofinish technology by Omega.

He adds that the most visible use of technology, although not new, was underwater digital lap counters for swimmers, video replays for referees in volleyball and beach volleyball, GPS on canoes transmitting data to spectators, sensors on targets for automated scoring in archery, laser technology in golf and shooting, NFC payment rings for Visa-sponsored athletes and NFC bracelets for others.

These all highlight the extent to which numerous current technologies could be brought into the games to improve scoring, viewing and monitoring, he points out.

"The use of big data in drug testing, not only testing for presence of drugs but also comparing athletes' blood to the overall sample base to detect anomalies, has resulted in this being hailed as one of the cleanest Olympics yet. Drug testing is like an arms race against the abusers, but it is one where the good guys finally seem to be getting the upper hand."

High-res security

Goldstuck points out that motion-tracking during training was probably a key factor in the level of competitiveness of these Games. He adds high-res security cameras carried in large balloons have been a major contributor to policing at the Games.

However, he notes the most disappointing technology was virtual reality, which in reality was simply 360-degree video. "It was not a great advertisement for either technology. By 2020, we will see a revolution in the way VR and AR [augmented reality] are used in allowing a close-up experience of the Games."

Jon Tullett, IDC's research manager for IT services, is of the view that for the 2016 Games, most of the technology was largely unchanged. He notes there have been advances in recording and broadcast technology, and greater use of the Internet and social networks, but nothing revolutionary.

"In four years, it's likely we'll see something different. It may be too soon for mass-market AR and VR, but I would expect some networks to be experimenting with it. IOT [Internet of things] technologies are likely to be widespread."

The 2020 Olympics host, Japan, known internationally for its technological innovations, has already indicated its aim to launch ambitious tech projects that will boost the economy and wow crowds.

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