Drone "Fireworks," 5G communications, and Streaming VR Coming to Olympic Games

Who needs fireworks when you've got drones? Or event tickets when you've got virtual reality? That's Intel's message as it prepares to bring technology to the 2018 Winter Olympics and future Olympic games. The company today announced that it had joined the Olympics partner program as a major sponsor through 2024. No dollar figures were mentioned at the press event, held in New York City and via web conference, however, the rumor mill has been pegging the deal at nine figures, or somewhere over $100 million. Intel was far more specific about the technologies it plans to deploy for the Olympics--drones, virtual reality, 5G communications, and artificial intelligence.