What happened in Sports AI this week?
The Paris Olympics is a test ground for bourgeoning AI technology.
Here are just some of the usecases. At the Olympics, AI is:
- Relaying data (2,000 data points per second) about a runner’s speed through a sensor in their bib the size of a credit card
- Calculating each swimmer’s stroke rate and distance covered, in real-time, and comparing it with the remaining distance and the performance of other competitors
- Creating automated highlights for broadcasters
- Shielding athletes from online abuse in more than 35 languages
- Controversially monitoring security footage for suspicious activity. Experts argues that AI-powered video surveillance will likely be the future for security at large events
- Assisting talent scouts to make decisions about who even makes it to a nation’s Olympic trials
- Making diving safer by automatically monitoring if an athlete’s head goes too close to the board
- Analysing electricity consumption in competition venues, as the organisers aim to pull off the first carbon-neutral edition of the Games
- Supporting coaches by providing personalised training plans
- Improving event operations efficiency and costs – for things such as transportation, workforce training, logistics and ticket sales
Sarah Vickers, head of Intel’s Olympic and Paralympic program, believes AI will have its biggest Olympic impact in areas like event operations, the data-hungry world of broadcasting, and the fan experience itself.
This is a short-form version, for the full insights and associated links, subscribe to my free weekly newsletter. I work at Rushmans.
