The Olympic Games have often been an important showcase for the host country to demonstrate the nation’s latest technological innovations. This was certainly true when Tokyo last hosted the event in 1964, when key new technologies such as computerized scoring, color broadcasting via satellite, quartz stopwatches, and even the bullet train were all shown to a global audience for the first time. While it is fair to say many of the technology plans for the event were significantly scaled-down amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still several notable introductions of new technologies which will have implications beyond the SportsTech sector.
Many new innovations for a number of technologies which are critical to enabling future Digital Transformation services appeared at the event, with some of the most notable including the following:
5G – Coinciding with the ongoing 5G deployments in Japan, new uses for mobile technology were demonstrated at the Olympics. For example, for the sailing event at Enoshima Yacht Harbor, spectators were able to view the race on a 50m screen, which received a 12K signal via 5G. For swimming events, at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, spectators were given 5G-enabled AR devices, which showed real-time information, such as leaderboards and swimmer information, during the event.
Drones – One of the highlights of the opening ceremony was a massive display of synchronized drones, which made an aerial formation of the Olympic logo before reforming to take the shape of a spinning globe. The 1,824 drones were provided by Intel and showed the level of sophistication which has been achieved with swarm communications. To conduct this feat, Intel used its Premium series drones, which weigh just 340 grams each and are equipped with four LEDs, in order to create the visual effects. Real-Time Kinetic (RTK) GPS was also used to provide extremely accurate satellite positioning.