Trends to Look for at Rio's Summer Olympics

There is much anticipation building as we wait for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio summer Olympics to start this Friday, August 5th. Top athletes from all around the world will make their way to Brazil to compete for the ultimate prize, a gold medal. This year, more so than others, technology will play a huge role in a variety of aspects at the games. Here are some of the major tech trends that can be spotted at this years summer Olympics. 

According to multiple articles, wearable technology will be all over Rio, from helping athletes train, to improving the overall experience for the Olympians. Here are a few examples of what kinds of wearable tech you'll see.

• Visa's NFC-enables payment ring- this ring, mostly used by athletes and Visa employees, allows payments to be made with a simple wave of the hand.

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• Solos- these augmented reality glasses are being used by the US cycling team to provide data driven training. These glasses are able to collect information such as power, speed and pedal revolutions from bike sensors and in real time, relay that information to the cyclists straight on their glasses. "With the ability for the athlete to reveice real-time feedback via the Solos smart glasses, they can now adjust on the fly," says Ernesto Martinez, a director at Solos.

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• WHOOP- Being used by athletes for some time now, WHOOP is unlike traditional wearable devices. It tracks more than your heart rate and steps taken, it goes a step further and reports on "how travel is affecting them, how close they are to a potential injury, and how much training is too much training." (sikids.com)

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Another trend you will notice this year is the attention large tech moguls are placing on the games. Google, Comcast, Twitter, Facebook, etc are all finding ways to make all the games (and relevant information) easily accessible to you. "Google announced on Monday that it's tuning up Search, YouTube, Trends, and Google Maps for a better mobile and online experience that helps fans find event information, official broadcaster videos, and user-generated content." (ZDNet) Twitter is also take part in the movement, launching a live Rio Olympics moments button, providing live content, highlights, and lots of new emojis. (digitaltrends)

Lastly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be highly used this year. Some of the products mentioned above and more utilize some form of AI to extract the pertinent data, and turn it into practical information that athletes can use when training. Virtual Assistants are one way to augment the way athletes interact with these different technologies. Connecting Virtual Assistants to these wearable devices makes for a simplified approach to analyzing data collected by these devices. Athletes can easily ask the VA some a question regarding their health, and the VA will use the information from the wearable device to give an appropriate response. See the video below for a short demonstration.

I am looking forward to seeing how these different technologies will impact the games this year. What are some other types of tech you are hearing about in Rio? Is it fair to be using these types of technology, does it give some countries an unfair advantage? What's your opinion? 

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World Cup 2014 MVP...Technology: The First 'Digital World Cup'

Photo Credit: hdwallphotos.com

Who is excited for the World Cup to kick-off!? This afternoon (1:00 pm PST) Brazil will be facing off against Croatia in the first match-up of World Cup 2014: Brazil!  

This World Cup is going to be much different than the previous years, though. People are referring to it as the first ‘digital World Cup’ impart because of the the emphasis on smartphone applications and fan connectivity via social media. Twitter is going to be a sort of ‘ESPN zone’ for your phone; fans can stay updated with their favorite teams and share with others their own thoughts using ‘hashflags’ (tweeting using the three letter code for their country, i.e. #ITA). “The popularity of smartphones will make this year’s World Cup the most connected and interactive tournament ever” (Source: Why World Cup 2014 will be the Most High-Tech Tournament Yet).

Looks like wearable devices are making an appearance this year as well; FIFA is introducing goal line technology. Now, multiple cameras will be mounted on the goal and once the ball crosses the line, a notification will go out to wrist watches the referees will be wearing indicating ‘GOAL.’ This technology will be particularly useful for referees to determine if the ball passed the line in unclear situations.

Even the soccer balls are getting updated with cutting edge technology and aerodynamic designs. During training, various countries used a ‘smart ball’ equipped with sensors inside the ball to detect speed, spin, strike, and flight trajectory, as well as determining impact points for penalties and corners. Utilizing this technology gives insight into specific data that can help teach players how to improve their game (Source: http://micoach.adidas.com/us/smartball). Check out how much the official World Cup soccer ball design has changed over time.

Photo Credit: fastcompany.com

These were just a few of the technology highlights that will make their way to World Cup 2014. More tech advancements include security robots, foam spray to draw temporary lines, futuristic soccer cleats, World Cup Instagram profile, different ways to stay cool in the hot weather conditions, and more.  With all these new technologies and innovations, how do you think this will impact the games?

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FIFA World Cup Recruits Robots to Enhance Security

Happy Friday! The 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted in Brazil is approaching fast. The first match is scheduled to kick off on June 12th, and end with the final game on July 13. It is going to be a month full of excitement and energy with hundreds of thousands of people coming from all over the world to experience the action. With so many people going to the games, security is a top concern for the Brazilian government. 

Photo Credit: ibtimes.co.uk

For extra protection, "Brazil has secured a $7.2m (£4.3m, €5.25m) deal with iRobot, a US-based company that makes domestic robots for consumers, as well as [defense] and security robots for the military" (Brazil Using Military Grade Robots for FIFA World Cup 2014 Security). These security robots, known as PackBots, are going to be used to examine suspicious objects and provide extra surveillance during all matches. 

What's your opinion about using robots as an aid for security? Is there room to add a Virtual Agent into the robot so people can communicate their problem to the robot in case a live guard is not near? EX: my child is lost or someone stole my wallet. The VA can provide a list of steps to take, while sending out an alert to all security and requesting service from the nearest guard. Maybe for World Cup 2018?    

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