AI Takes the Stage at the Summer Olympics

It might not be obvious from the TV coverage, but the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which of course are being held in 2021) are infused with big data and AI to an extent never before experienced in an Olympic games. It's been 53 years since the Olympics officially adopted electronic time-keeping equipment to track racers in Olympic events. Omega's Magic Eye camera, which debuted in 1948, gave us the first of many "photo-finish" for track events, and was soon adopted in other events too. Now the technology is going up a notch in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which perhaps should have been called the 2021 games), and Omega is behind much of it. For example, Omega, which is the official timekeeper for 35 Olympic sports, is using cameras equipped with computer vision capabilities to track the movement of beach volleyball players, as well as the ball.