Rio Olympics: Sensors, big data to be the next revolution

Rio Olympics: Sensors, big data to be the next revolution
BY ROBERTA PRESCOTT ON AUGUST 3, 2016 AMERICAS, BIG DATA 

Almost 20% of the R$ 7.4 billion (U.S. $2.25 billion) total budget the Rio Olympics Organizing Committee announced for the games this year was earmarked to implement information technology and telecommunication solutions. Almost 250 companies, including Atos, Cisco, America Movil, EMC, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Symantec, have provided different levels of technology to build the entire infrastructure, CIO Elly Resende told RCR Wireless News. He added the Committee worked closely to the Brazilian telecom regular Anatel to manage and control frequency band spectrum used for the Games.

Resende explained that the Olympics and Paralympics aren’t the occasion to foster any brand-new technology or work as a showroom, however, since the London 2012 Olympic Games, some technologies have matured and will debut in Brazil. Indeed, technology has dramatically increased the precision and reliability of results at the Olympic Games.

“Until 1948, everything relied on the accuracy of the human eye. Sometimes, the closest results could be open to dispute. But 1948 was perhaps the biggest step forward,” Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega Timing noted. “That was when machines began to overtake human ability. It has evolved so much that we now have electronic results that are totally indisputable.” For example, Zobrist said in athletics Omega has introduced the Scan-O-Vision MYRIA camera that can produce 10,000 images per second for a photofinish.

Over the years, technology has improved the accuracy of results at the Olympic Games. In the Rio Olympics, underwater digital lap counters from Omega will be used in the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle swimming events. They automatically update the lap count when a swimmer hits the touchpad on the wall.

Technology has also sped-up results. In archery, sensors were added to the classic paper letting spectators know when the arrow hits the target and displaying the score on the screen just one second after it. In racing, photocells positioned on the finish line of races replace the traditional finish line tape. The photoelectric cells emit beams of light across the finish line, stopping time as soon as a competitor crosses. “It gives racers and spectators a precise understanding of the winner’s recorded time,” Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega Timing said.

For the Rio Olympics, Omega is increasing the number of photocells from two to four. This addition means that more body patterns can be detected as an athlete crosses the line and the accuracy is therefore improved in the final moment of the race.

The increased adoption of machine-to-machine connections might have a huge impact on the Olympic Games, not only because they will bring more accurate results, but also because sensors can make several different measurements on an athlete’s health, impact of environmental conditions on competition places, etc. “Evolving technology and software opens many possibilities for timekeeping and data handling. We are discovering many new ways to benefit athletes, judges and even spectators,” Omega’s Zobrist noted.

At the Rio Olympics, new scoreboards were introduced for golf. Placed on four dedicated tees, the scoreboards will be equipped with radar measurement systems. As a player tees off, information will be captured and then displayed to spectators so that they can see a live output of the stroke speed, estimated distance and height of the stroke. “We are also working on improved GPS positioning so that during events such as road cycling and team sports, we can produce live information and statistics relating to individual performers,” the CEO added.

The monitoring and analysis via sensors and the cross-references of machines data through cloud-based intelligent systems are tools with the potential to improve the technical and physical performance of athletes.

Talking about internet of things (IoT) deployments at the Olympic Games, Eduardo Ricota, vice president at Ericsson for Latin America, noted there aren’t many large scale IoT projects, though he believes they will come in the future due to massive investments in featuring solutions, such as for public transportation, security and publicity.

Big data hits games

To collect and analyze huge amounts of data in a short period of time or real-time has made differences in several businesses. As a co-sponsor of the Brazilian Canoe Federation (CBCa), GE has been using big data technology to help athletes improve their technique and physical performances improve. The company installed sensors in the canoes and heart monitors in athletes to collect data in order to measure both the performance of athletes and the canoes themselves during training sessions, Alfredo Mello, commercial head at GE for Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, said.

In the boat (canoe and kayak), the system features are accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and GPS — all of it used to measure the frequency and intensity of the rowing, and also to detect the location, speed and direction of the canoe. In addition, the athletes will use a heart rate monitor that sends the information via Bluetooth to the sensors placed in the boat.

“All the information collected is transmitted to a host system that operates in the cloud on GE’s Industrial Internet platform. This host system stores and cross-references all the data automatically, providing the operator with a complete analysis and friendly visualization in a dashboard, accessed with a tablet,” Mello explained.

Visa and Brazilian bank Bradesco to trial a bracelet equipped with NFC for payments
NFC in the field

Near Field Communications (NFC) technology will be highlighted at the Rio Olympics. Visa and Brazilian bank Bradesco will trial a bracelet equipped with NFC for payments. It is the first payment wearable launched by the two companies for the Brazilian market. The so-called Pulseira Bradesco Visa will be available for selected customers and the Visa’s first payment ring will be given to all Team Visa athletes in Rio (a group of 45 Olympic hopefuls from around the world), allowing them to make purchases by simply tapping their ring at any NFC-capable payment terminal.

According to Sabrina Sciama, communication director at Visa do Brasil, all 4,000 point-of-sale (POS) devices across key Olympic venues, the US Olympic Committee’s USA House and Copacabana Megastore will be NFC-enabled, as well as 12 ATMs, provided by Bradesco, at Olympic Park. Visa is creating and managing the entire payment system infrastructure and network throughout all venues including stadiums, press centers, POS, the Olympic Village and Olympic Superstores.

“Thanks to technology we have today, during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, we will be able to show new forms of payment, such as the NFC ring, the bracelet Pulseira Bradesco Visa and Visa Checkout online payment service,” Sciama noted, adding Visa expects for the next 30 years payment methods to migrate from plastic card to e-commerce, mobile-commerce, in-app payments, wearables and contactless payments, peer-to-peer payments and via IoT devices.

“The plastic will migrate to any connected device, which can be a car, a refrigerator or a watch. To accompany this time, Visa is adopting strategies of open innovation and human centered, and opening innovation centers around the world, including Brazil,” she said. Visa is expected to launch an innovation lab in São Paulo, Brazil in second half of 2015.