I love the Olympics.
When the games came to Los Angeles in 1984, my children and I hung out every day with the athletes at the Olympic Village in Westwood. The spirit of excellence, the fierce but friendly competition and the open hospitality obliterated all the months of media negativity that had driven many Angelenos out of the city. It turned out to be one of the most positive, globally harmonious, thrilling times of my life.
The ’84 opening ceremonies were spectacular. Rocket-belt pilot Bill Suitor flew into the Coliseum, propelled by a futuristic Bell Aerosystems rocket pack. The five Olympic rings were formed on the ground by the United States Army Band. For the breathtaking closing ceremonies a giant, seemingly self-propelled flying saucer flew over the Coliseum right out of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
It was mind-boggling tech magic! Capped by the newest in laser light shows and an intense, digitally powered fireworks finale, the Olympics delivered an inspiringly emotional closing experience. At the end, I sobbed my eyes out, not wanting it to be over. It brought out the best in the athletes, the technicians who showcased the events and the people of my city. Why couldn’t the world always be like that?
Fast forward to PyeongChang, 2018. Things have really changed since 1984! Technology has developed in global arenas that are just as competitive as any sports arenas. South Korea is a tech powerhouse. United Press International reports, “Technology is one of the core pillars of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, which is expected to be the most wired sports event in history, showcasing next-generation technologies to the world.” The event is a seamless integration of technology with the warmth, heart and culture of Seoul’s soul.
The opening ceremonies did have the five Olympic rings presented, but not on the ground. 1,218 Intel Shooting Star Drones formed pictures in the cold, windy night sky. Animated snowboarders, a beautiful, flying bird and the five Olympic rings appeared in perfect, starry forms. Wired magazine explains, “After animators draw up the show using 3-D design software, each individual drone is assigned to act as kind of an aerial pixel, filling in a 3-D image against the night sky.” The drones are LED lights attached to propellers with sensors. They have GPS positioning and can be programmed where to go and when to light up or go dark. Spectacular!
“The Olympics is all about pushing boundaries,” Anil Nanduri, General Manager of Intel’s Drone Group, told CNN Tech. “We wanted to do something the world has never seen before.”
He calls it “technology meeting art.”
Jennie Oh reported for UPI on all the tech innovations at the games: The venues themselves are all networked with 5G-based technologies. 5G networks will be 10-100 times faster than present cellular connections, making for faster downloads and super-high definition streaming experiences. 5G technology will be commercially available in late 2019 or 2020. At the National Science Museum in Daejeon City, South Korea’s Silicon Valley, visitors could “experience” a Virtual Reality bobsled ride or a ski jump run “immersed in snowy surroundings.”
Oh continues, “Some 360-degree Virtual Reality cameras offer a panoramic view of the games, while omni-view services provide maps and views from specific locations, as well as track specific athletes’ progress and rankings. Interactive time-slice features allow viewers to stop and rotate a screen to catch figure-skating jumps and spins from any angle while mini wireless sync-view cameras installed on a bobsled will show the track race through the eyes of the athlete.”
Business Insider reports there are 85 robots at the games, including a torch bearer!
“During the games several paint robots draw murals on venue walls, speaking robots provide information on schedules, transport and attractions, and have the ability to speak Korean, Chinese, Japanese and English.” Delivery robots, cleaning robots and self-driving shuttles are busy servicing the public.
The top athletes in the world and the most cutting-edge technologies are showcased in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The best of the best shine as beacons of the possible. I adore it. We are crushed by negativity from the media relentlessly sowing fear, despair and hopelessness as a daily diet of destruction to the human soul. Pundits tear into the Olympics every time they come up. But I know what is happening in the soul of Seoul, because it happened here. For two weeks, the human hearts of the host citizens are lifted as global cultures harmonize.
Somewhere in Seoul there is a woman, who, like me, will cry when the last of the drones land and the fireworks fade, because she, too, will always want the world around her and her children to be so beautifully positive. I can’t wait for the games to come back here!
Vamos a ver!
