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February 16, 2018The 23rd Winter Olympics is currently under way at Pyeongchang in South Korea. In addition to the Olympic spirit, what is being celebrated is the role of technology in the latest edition of the games.
Chennai: South Korea prides itself on technological advancements and the Olympics is a fantastic global platform to display its tech prowess. When visitors to the games arrive at the Incheon International Airport, they are greeted by robots that play the role of guides helping with whatever information they need and take them to places they wanted to go.
It is the first time that the Winter Olympics is being broadcasted on TV at a 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) resolution. It’s only appropriate to watch the world’s best athletes on a resolution of 3840 x 2160 which amounts to over eight million pixels with rich colours. The Olympics is expected to drive the demand for 4K resolution TVs around the world. The TV broadcasters are pushing the boundaries of TV viewing experience by providing Virtual Reality (VR) in what will become the World’s largest live VR event.
Over two dozen cameras that captures 180 degree angles will record the show, which means viewers with the right headset can watch the games live giving them an in-stadia watching experience. This Olympics will also be the place where the participants will experience blazing fast 5G connectivity. This will give us a preview of 5G that is expected to be rolled out to the consumers in the coming years. With temperature at Pyeongchang going as low as -11 degrees, it’s vital for the athletes to stay warm.
The games will see the first heated uniforms that are powered by batteries to keep the athletes warm. The inside of the jackets from the USA team have an electro-conductive ink which can produce heat for up to 11 hours, which I’m sure the athletes will greatly appreciate. The intense cold at the venue means that both the athletes and the audience will have to wear gloves to protect themselves from being frost-bitten.
Anyone who wears thick gloves knows how much of a hassle it is to do a task while wearing the gloves. Visa has come up with a NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled gloves. This means that customers can make payments at any store by just waving their gloved hands instead of clumsily handling their wallets or purses.
The one that truly got my attention is the smart suit worn by the ice skaters of the Dutch team. This is connected to an app and it passes on critical information of the body posture when the skaters practice. The coaches receive accurate real time feedback which helps them to correct the body posture for greater aerodynamics. Mega events like the Olympics are a fantastic showcase ground for what’s next. It’s a great precursor for what we will be using in a couple of year’s time or even earlier.