Smart-est Olympics yet!
Renu Chaturvedi
Email: renu_chaturvedi@isb.edu
ISB Institute of Data Science, Hyderabad, India
Tokyo may be the smartest Olympics yet. The ongoing Covid crisis has compelled the Games to embrace technology and digital innovations like never before!
3D Athlete Tracking (3DAT), a collaborated effort by Intel and Alibaba has debuted at the current Olympics. 3DAT is a computer vision solution that captures images from five special trackside cameras, sends it to Alibaba Cloud, fuses with deep learning algorithms and generates actionable insights like top rate of speed for each racer. The system has the potential to close performance gap for elite athletes. (https://www.datanami.com/2021/07/28/ai-takes-the-stage-at-the-summer-olympics)
OBS (Olympics Broadcasting Service), the Company with Olympics’ telecast rights since 2008, has had to look for novel ways to telecast the Olympics. Given the Covid situation- there are few spectators and less media on the grounds this time. The Company has resorted to technology to create a vivid experience of the much-awaited and viewed sporting event. A 3D Athlete-tracking system that takes images from multiple cameras combines them with Artificial Intelligence to show sporting action from every angle is used. (https://techhq.com/2021/07/advanced-tv-technology-to-bring-viewers-to-a-fan-free-tokyo-olympics/)
For the first time, the Olympics have integrated video games. The Games started with a pre-show of The Olympics Virtual Series with players competing against each other in hybrid virtual sports like ZWIFT. Virtual Regatta Inshore, a sailing simulator, and a cycling game played on a stationary bike were displayed. (https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/olympics-2021-esports/). The Olympic Virtual Series- a new virtual event launched by the IOC- allows social group rides, group workouts as well as a series of podcast rides with past Olympic athletes.
Toyota has deployed robotic version of the Tokyo Olympics’ mascots, Miraitowa and Someity, to meet & greet the athletes and the spectators. The Company has also deployed a humanoid called T-HR3 controlled by the VR Goggles & an Exoskeleton to hold conversations with athletes. A tall telepresence robot T-TR1 with a vertical screen shows a live image of the remote viewer, and it has a top-mounted camera to give people the live attendance feel. Toyota’s Field Support Robots have been seen on the turf retrieving sports equipment reducing the need for operational staff. A fleet of autonomous transport vehicles called the ‘Accessible People Mover’ has also been deployed to chauffer athletes around the Olympic Village. (https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/other-sports/tokyo-olympics-2020-army-of-robots-unveiled-to-run-the-show-amid-covid)
During the on-going basketball games, fans have been treated to CUE- AI powered humanoid shooting hoops with perfect accuracy and precision during the half-time interval of the match between France and the US. The humanoid is an AI powered athletic legend in its own right.
Particularly in Archery, Hyundai Motor Group has invested in R&D to support technology in high precision shooting machine, automatic score recorder, vision-based heart rate measurement, deep learning vision AI coach and customized grip. A special recognition algorithm that identifies the player’s face while he pulls the bow to measure a more accurate heart rate and filters out surrounding noise has been developed. Audiences will witness the
heartbeat variations and adrenaline rush experienced by the archer’s body as they shoot their arrow through an on-screen graphic. (https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/hyundai-motor-group-s-high-technology-was-behind-korea-s-crazy-archery-121072800181_1.html)
A combination of computer vision technology and a camera is extensively used in Gymnastics, Swimming, and Volleyball at the Olympics. According to Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega Timing, an R&D team of 180 engineers at Omega has been developing an internal positioning system and motion sensor system for recording time at the Games. For Volleyball, data is derived by combining this with training artificial intelligence to recognize numerous shots, types of passes, and the ball’s flight path. The coolest part? The data is further combined with information received from the gyroscope sensor on the player’s clothing! These sensors track the athlete’s movement, the height of his jump, etc. Roughly 2,000 sets of data per second are collected & analyzed for speed or points of acceleration. (It’s all in the wrist: Sports tech blossoms at Tokyo Olympics — Nikkei Asia) In real-time, all this data gets processed for commentary or screen graphics by the broadcasters. Essentially, data is collected, measured, analyzed, and transmitted in record time. Omega Timing claims that its beach volleyball system has an accuracy rate of 99%, thanks to sensors and multiple cameras running 250 frames per second. (https://businesspress.in/how-artificial-intelligence-will-help-keep-time-at-the-tokyo-olympics/)
Digital tools are being used in managing athletes’ conditioning. Tokyo-based company Euphoria’s health Management App-One Tap-App is used by 45% of Japanese athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics. Athletes record their training, meals, and injuries daily. This data is then reviewed by their coaches, nutritionists and remedial actions are suggested by them. It is not the first this is being used for a sporting event. However, the scale at which it is being used requires mention. This app has been adopted by 1,700 teams in 71 different sports. (https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Tokyo-2020-Olympics/It-s-all-in-the-wrist-Sports-tech-blossoms-at-Tokyo-Olympics)
Forecasters claim the global Artificial Intelligence in the sports industry will touch the US $3.3billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 33%. (https://www.globaltechoutlook.com/how-artificial-intelligence-is-helping-athletes-in-tokyo-olympics-2020/). Top industry trends like UHD, HDR, spatial audio, cloud services, AI, and 5G will all drive a new level of content creation, distribution, and viewer experiences in the not-so-distant future. This will indeed have an impact on the role of data and digitization in the subsequent Olympics.
The pace at which data is being embraced and used at Olympics makes one wonder if the future of the Olympics could see the clash of technology led by AI, ML algorithm-based rehearsed participants, and athletes. Big data will move beyond capturing moments, helping athletes train to improve the overall Olympics experience. Big data and AI are here to stay, and it can only be a good thing.
