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Teich's Tech Tidbit
August 2004
Technology and the 2004 Olympics
Teich's Tech Tidbit
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George W. Bush, you can find it here. But instead, why not stay around and explore this site? It's a lot more interesting than that picture. |
| As the Olympics grow in size, scope, and political and economic importance,
athletes and the nations that support them are driven to seek every possible
advantage in their quest for medals. Science and technology provide
such advantages, and, as their products are introduced into competition,
they create a dynamic similar to an arms race. If one competitor
uses a new technique or device that yields an advantage (and it is judged
to be consistent with the rules of the sport), others are forced to adopt
it in order to keep pace. The "Fastskin" full-body swimsuits had
this effect among swimmers in Sydney in 2000, just as fiberglass poles
came to dominate pole-vaulting some years earlier.
In other respects, too, the Olympics, like many sporting events, are becoming increasingly technological. The pervasiveness of television and the Internet, the use of computers to manage competitions, keep records, and disseminate results, the growing field of biomechanical research applied to sports, the need for precision time-keeping devices, even the kind of lights used for night competitions are all examples. And, increasingly, the threat of terrorism looms over the games and high tech security is has been a major challenge to Olympic planners and governments of participating nations -- Greece, of course, but also the U.S., Britain, Germany, and Israel. The links below provide a few current examples of the use of technology
as well as some interesting reports and commentaries on technology, sport,
and the Olympics.
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Official Site of the 2004 Olympic Games. While it doesn't discuss technology explicitly, it is perhaps the most effective demonstration of how technology--in this case the Internet--is being used in the Olympics. NBCOlympics.com. Television-oriented site with reports from Athens and much more, from the network that is broadcasting the games in the United States: TV listings, schedules and results, Olympics souvenirs, etc. "Athens Olympics Steps Up Cybersecurity" by Brian Murphy, eWeek (July 16, 2004). "Q&A: Olympics Security" -- BBC News World Edition (May 5, 2004). "Official: Olympics Security Set for Games" -- ABC News7 (WJLA - Washington, DC, June 2, 2004). The security budget for the games is $1.2 billion. "Green Technology Lights the Olympics." Description of lighting technology for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organistion (CSIRO--the Australian government's central research lab). "Technology Helps Olympic Riders" by Alfred Hermida, BBC News World Edition (July 30, 2004). Britain's olympic equestrian team has been using video cameras and laptop computers during their training sessions to hone their performance. "Athens Poses a Test for a Wireless World" by Jennifer L. Schenker, TechNewsWorld (July 23, 2004). "Never before will so many people have brought so many mobile phones to such a limited space. People are more dependent than ever on wireless devices to stay in touch, arrange meeting places, find hotels or check schedules." "Olympics Notebook: New-age technology pulling plug on adage" by David Barron, The Houston Chronicle (June 13, 2004). Digital video and the 2004 games. "Olympic Athletes Turn to Digital Video" by Associated Press, The Boston Herald (July 26, 2004). USA Track and Field has been using a software program called Dartfish to help athletes evaluate their performance through real-time digital video analysis. "Olympics Arrive for PlayStation Owners," Reuters (August 4, 2004). But "you'll need to do some world-class button-mashing to be worthy of the gold in this $40 console game from Sony." Sports Science Meets the Olympics from "The Why Files." The site dates from 1996 and refers mainly to the Atlanta Olympics of that year. It's interesting mainly as a means of seeing how much has changed since that time. 2004 Olympic Games from Sports Illustrated.com. An excellent media site with reports on the Olympics. "A Gold Medal Finish" -- NASA's role in giving the U.S. speedskating team a competitive edge. (Yes, it's a Winter Olympics sport, but it's an interesting example of the application of a space-age "spin off" technology to olympic sports.) "The (Post) Modern Olympics." Subtitled "Technology and the Commodification of the Olympic Movement," this article by Professor Michael R. Real of San Diego State University takes a critical look at what technology, especially television is doing to the Olympics. Long, and not an easy read--at least for those who are not into postmodern sociocultural analysis. Is TV corrupting the Olympics? Read and find out (but you can probably guess the answer). The Sports Biomechanics Lab, at the University of California, Davis. It's not an olympic sport (yet, anyway) but the project on frisbee flight simulation and throw biomechanics is particularly interesting. Sports Technology Hotlist. Links and more from an architect and member of the MIT Media Lab.
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This is a complete revision of a Tech Tidbit on Olympic Technology originally posted in September 2000.
E-mail your tidbit suggestions to ateich@aaas.org.
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