Technology At Tokyo 2020
Japan has had a reputation of being at the forefront of technological development for quite some time. Whether that be with the tech industry, entertainment, or in medical research, the Japanese are always looking to innovate. With the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games on the horizon, Japan will be looking to make a unique experience utilizing technology. The upcoming Summer Olympics and Paralympics have been called a balancing act between traditional culture and modernity. The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee and the Japanese government is constantly looking into what kind of technology should be featured at the games. From A.I driven vehicles and 3D meteor showers, to algae based biofuel, there are quite a few fascinating developments that may make an appearance. Here are six different areas of technological innovation that will hopefully be on display for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
1). Self-Driving Vehicles
The news of self driving vehicles has been one of the most exciting announcements regarding technology at the games. The current goal is to transport athletes, workers, media and those with mobility issues around the athletes village. However there is a hope that this self driving system can be utilized to cheaply transport spectators from venue to venue. This has yet to be confirmed and has been met with some skepticism. With Tokyo prefecture boasting a population of over 38 million people, any introduction of a new unproven method of public transportation could have large impact on the traffic flow.
There are several designs that have been on display. One of the most publicized is Toyota’s e-Pallete. Originally announced in 2016, the e-Pallete is an automated electric transportation system that has multiple functionalities, from ride shares to delivering goods. Other companies are also trying to get into the market of the driver-less taxi, with Nissan and Uber just to name a few. The Tokyo Games which expects to see over a million tourists in a short few months will be an enticing chance to capitalize on the extra traffic for some of these companies, if they can be fully functional by then.
Self-driving cars have been in development for quite some time, with many companies already offering self parking vehicles. However for daily use they are limited these days, but in two years the Japanese government hopes to first display the technology before being fully commercialized with the target date being set for 2022.
2). Facial Recognition Systems
The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will feature a more technologically extensive security system than any previous games before. This will be used for athletes, workers, the media and volunteers. There have been voiced concerns about this being an invasion of privacy, but there is no need to worry for audience members. For the system to work, an individual will have to willingly submit a photo into the system, and that is strictly limited to people involved with the operation of the games.
This may seem a little over top for some, but it has many practical implications such as increasing the speed and efficiency of security checks. It will allow people in and out while hopefully avoiding lineups. The main factor for pushing a new security system is due to the layout of this particular Olympic Games. Unlike previous games which would have specific areas that were designated to feature multiple venues in a very close proximity, Tokyo 2020 will be much more spread out across the metropolitan area. This means that those who are a part of operations of the games will have to do a security check every time they enter a different facility, rather than once at the entrance of the designated area. Tokyo 2020’s head of security Tsuyoshi Iwashita also cited lack of space and the weather as major factors, being quoted as saying:
“Tokyo’s venues doesn’t always have enough space for the security check or even space to wait for the security check. When the events are happening, we expect many people to come and the weather will be very hot. This is why we introduced this facial recognition.” — Tsuyoshi Iwashita
The information technology company NEC (Nippon Electric Company) is in charge of developing the technology. They are estimating roughly 300 000 people will be part of their system during the operation of Tokyo 2020. They are said to be one of the leaders in this technology, having a system that is able to adjust to various environments, regardless of lighting and background. The effectiveness of their system will be put to the test come Tokyo 2020.
3). Language Translation Technology
Although there will be plenty of workers and volunteers who will be able to speak a multitude of languages, The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee is looking to utilize AI to relay more direct simple instructions. This will likely be done in a variety of manners. This ranges from small tablet devices to earpieces and downloadable phone apps.
Recently there have been plenty of advertisements for small pocket translators from a couple different companies to hit the Japanese market. These have been received with mixed reviews, with seemingly lots of publicity given to Pocketalk. However these are not directly related to the games as they are more for commercial use. Instead the government has put resources into The National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, NICT for short. The NICT has been working on the phone application VoiceTra, which is said to be able to translate between 31 different languages via text and 16 languages verbally. The NICT has actually given the technology to the private sector, in hopes they can make other various tools for tourists during the Tokyo 2020 games.
4). Robotics / A.I.
The push for robotics and the use of A.I during the Tokyo Games has steadily increased over the past couple years. However the expectations of 100% fully operational robots is a stretch. They do have however a variety of robotics that do offer assistance in specific areas. Here are just some of the examples.
One such robotic device that is already set to be utilized at the games will come from the Japanese company Panasonic. Their device will be in the form of power suits that give the wearer support to reduce stress on joints and muscles. This product is by no means limited to just Tokyo 2020, as they will be used in the general public. The device has already been utilized in power lifting events in Japan as seen above.
Possibly one of the most useful artificial intelligence systems that will be used at the games is a guide system. This will help spectators, volunteers and athletes avoid congestion in the city. The map will highlight routes and areas that are “expected” to be most congested. This will be done by relaying a message to individuals via phone app, forecasting peoples movements based on the competition of events. It will be updated every thirty minutes or so.
Two different robots have been confirmed to be making an appearance to help guide and translate for tourists. Softbank has been developing their robot named “Pepper” for the past four years and has been for sale as of late. The other robot Hitachi’s “EMIEW3” will also provide some services at the games. These robots will serve a similar role, but seem to have slight differences. They both will predominantly be in airports, stations, shops and tourist locations. The differences seems that Pepper is more communication oriented for translating information, featuring an I-Pad that is capable of displaying messages via text and able to be utilized by guests to aid their experience. EMIEW3 is more geared towards physically guiding people to locations, featuring quick and agile movements. The cute designs are to not scare away young visitors.
5). Cleaner Energy Sources
It was announced that the government will focus it’s efforts to use predominantly renewable energy to supply Tokyo 2020’s venues and the athletes village during the operation of the games. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as you can find a tremendous amount of solar panels across Japan to power their massive cities.
There has long been a push to move away from the use of nuclear power for the obvious fear of radiation. The Fukushima Daiichi disaster fresh in many minds, there will always be a support for cleaner energy sources. With the influx of energy consumption during Tokyo 2020 being inevitable, the government made the conscious decision to devote more effort to using strictly energy generated from solar, wing and hydro power.
A much more intriguing prospect that may be utilized during the games is the use of algae based fuel. Not specifically designed for the Olympics by any means, this project has been in the works by Japan Airlines Co. since 2009. Similar to the self driving cars, these will most likely be in the form of a prototype. The goal of using this algae based fuel to replace traditional jet fuel is set for roughly 2050, so to say this research is still in an infancy phase wouldn’t be inaccurate.
Whether it be the use of current renewable energy or a prototype of a new algae based bio fuel, the Japanese government is doing everything in it’s power to make Tokyo 2020 the cleanest games to date.
6). 3D Entertainment
There has been a few stories in the news recently involving 3-D animations, specifically the virtual pop star Miku Hatsune. If you didn’t know Japan has a history of creating new 3-D technology, combining J-pop and anime style which has made these “celebrities” quite popular in Japan. There are several unique projects that have been under way to add a level of entertainment to the Tokyo 2020 games utilizing advancements in 3D technology.
One such project involves the creation of a virtual meteor shower. The Japanese company ALE has been bidding on the opportunity to create the virtual meteor shower images specifically for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The images would be created via satellite, sending projection from the orbit onto the city of Tokyo. A downside is the cost of these micro satellites that are said to be tens of thousands of dollars each.
So there are just some of the various technologies that may come to be featured at the Tokyo 2020 games. Many Japanese people are excited to see what these various companies and the government has in store. As many of these are still in development as we speak, it is uncertain if they will be fully functional in two years time. Regardless of their completion, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be a unique experience featuring Japan’s long cultural history and the Japanese people's ingenuity in the technological world.
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