The London 2012 Olympic Games will see several technologies making an appearance for the first time in the event's history, in areas like communications infrastructure, media and the sporting activities themselves.
Here are five technologies making their debut at the Games, and what they will mean for athletes and spectators alike.
Pay phone
The London Games will be the first to make use of a mobile contactless payment application, being offered by official sponsors, Visa and Samsung. Near-field communications technology has been built into Samsung's Galaxy S III phone - the “official phone of the Olympics” - which allows users to wave their phones in front of a contactless reader to make a purchase. The app also displays transaction history and account balance, providing customers with greater visibility into what they're spending and how much money they have left.
The phone, if associated with a Visa card, can be used to pay for items up to the value of £20 anywhere that accepts contactless payments, for any purchases within the Olympic areas. It's estimated there will be about 140 000 contactless terminals in the country by the time the Games roll around.
Smart starting blocks
While electronic starting blocks aren't by themselves new to the Games, official timekeeper Omega has upgraded the blocks for this year's Olympics to detect pressure rather than movement. The technology will make its debut at the track events, measuring runners' reaction times based on the force against the back block. False starts will be declared if reaction times do not fall within determined parameters.
Additional advancements include Omega's Quantum Timer and the Quantum Aquatics Timer, which are capable of resolutions of one millionth of a second - 100 times faster than previous devices.
3D action
This year marks the first time the Olympic Games will be broadcast live in 3D. While previous Games have been broadcast in HD, live footage will now be broadcast to homes in 3D, as well, with more than 33 "true 3D" cameras being used to capture 230-plus hours of 3D coverage.
The BBC will broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies and the men's 100m final in 3D, while European broadcaster Eurosport is also providing 3D coverage.
The quality of HD has been upgraded as well, and the Games will feature the highest definition Olympic footage ever seen. Called “ultra-high definition”, the technology offers a resolution of 7680x4320 - 16 times the quality of standard HD video.
The BBC has also released new delivery technology called "chunked streaming”, which allows a viewer joining halfway through an event to "rewind" the stream back to the start.
Wireless scoring
Taekwondo athletes competing at the London Olympics will be scored for the first time by a wireless system, following scoring controversies at previous Games. The Daedo/Truescore electronic system is aimed at being faster and more accurate, eliminating human subjectivity in judging. Athletes are required to wear protective vests, footwear and other gear embedded with the technology, which registers kicks and punches only if they strike the opponent with sufficient force.
In addition to the wireless system, six video cameras will be installed to give judges the ability to immediately rule on a scoring when challenged, and live feeds of the footage will be displayed for greater transparency.
Record keeping
The London Games will see the USOlympic team make use of electronic health records for the first time, to keep track of medical conditions, injuries and recovery. The electronic files will replace the paper-based records usually used, and are hoped to improve athletes and doctors' ability to co-ordinate the team's medical needs.
The electronic records will allow anyone involved in the physical care of an athlete, including trainers, physical therapists and emergency physicians, to get quick access to their medical histories, and update it with the latest developments. Athletes can decide what information goes into their files, and are assigned a point-of-care ombudsman to co-ordinate the incoming data. Given the average Olympic athlete sees eight different doctors at any one time, it's anticipated to save significant time and effort.
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