Driverless cars, 5G networks, improved broadcasting systems and smart translation tech - this is what sports enthusiasts can expect at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The organisers want the sporting event to be a spectacular display of the country's technological prowess, all of which was revealed at the CEATEC 2013 expo in Japan, at the beginning of October.
Some of the country's tech elite view the 2020 games as a chance to showcase technologies with the potential to transform mobile telecommunications, consumer electronics and transportation for attendees, as well as change how people view the Olympics on television, according to ITWorld.
NTT Docomo, Japan's biggest mobile telecoms network operator, will roll out its 5G network in time for the event, which it claims will be 100 times faster than LTE, with data rates of between 1Gbps and 10Gbps.
The company has also mooted the release of augmented reality "instant translation" glasses, which translate content in seconds, and should prove popular with tourists to Japan in 2020. "Character-recognition technology enables instant language translation for users travelling abroad and reading restaurant menus and other documents," NTT Docomo said in a statement.
Nissan is also looking to show the world what it can do, come 2020. The automotive manufacturer is looking to have a self-driving car on the streets of Tokyo by then. Nissan's Autonomous Drive technology includes five cameras and lasers, which act as the vehicle's eyes. The company believes the concept will be commercially viable within seven years.
For those not attending the event, the country's national broadcaster, Hoso Kyokai, is working on a Super Hi-Vision broadcast quality, dubbed 8K, which produces 16 times the level of detail of current broadcasting systems. "We plan to do experimental broadcasting in 8K by 2016 and we are currently trying our best to be ready to broadcast directly in 8K in 2020," said NHK senior engineer Hironori Domen.
The Olympic Games were previously held in Japan in 1964. The games were marked as the first to be broadcast overseas via satellite and, for the first time, viewers could watch the sporting action in colour. The 1964 Olympics also saw extensive upgrades to the city's transport infrastructure, including the construction of the Shinkansen bullet train.
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