2024/08/13 23:00
Global AI: Revealing the Top 10 AI Application Scenarios of the Paris Olympics!
2024/08/13 23:00
When the Olympic flame burns on the banks of the Seine, it shines not only with sportsmanship, but also with technology and thought. From live broadcasting, auxiliary training, venue management, public opinion monitoring to barrier-free construction...... The global integration of AI demonstrates the revolutionary changes brought by technological innovation to the Olympic Games, and also marks the arrival of a new era of "AI + sports".
Author | Huang Yanru (author of Sanchuanhui Culture and Technology, researcher of Sanchuanhui Culture and Technology Research Institute).
Editorial Review | Time
Edit | Peninsula
Source | Sanchuanhui Culture and Technology
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have come to an end. The Chinese sports delegation won 40 golds, 27 silvers and 24 bronzes, achieving the best results in the history of overseas participation since China fully participated in the Summer Olympics in 1984.
Top athletes gather in Paris to be greeted not only by the fierce competition, but also by their ability to focus on excellence, from their daily meals and training arrangements to their transportation. According to the estimation of Mordor Intelligence, a market research institution, the global market size of "AI + sports" will be about 6 billion US dollars in 2024 and will grow to 21 billion US dollars in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of about 28.69%. It can be seen that AI is destined to change the development ecology of the sports industry by changing the Olympic Games.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are an important showcase for the large-scale application of artificial intelligence technology. During the event, AI technology shines brightly, whether it is the intelligence of hardware equipment, the efficiency of venue management, or the scientific training of athletes. Technology has become a key engine for the Olympic Movement.
△ AI-drawn Olympic poster
Today, let's talk about the application scenarios of AI technology in the Paris Olympics, and see what kind of sparks AI technology has created with the Paris Olympics.
As a new type of productivity, AI plays an important role in upgrading the Olympic viewing experience and the efficiency of direct broadcasting. The AI technology provided by Alibaba Cloud's AI-driven computing has set up high-definition cloud live broadcast, VR/AR panoramic live broadcast in 14 venues of more than 20 events such as badminton and track and field, and launched technologies such as 360-degree real-time replay, 3D athlete tracking, virtual studio area, and digital human anchor, bringing an immersive viewing experience to the audience.
△ AI multi-camera playback on the cloud
In table tennis, archery and other competitions, Shanghai Oriental Media Technology Co., Ltd. (SMT), a subsidiary of Shanghai Radio and Television Station, and SenseTime Technology Co., Ltd. independently developed InnoMotion sports AI products, which track and analyze key parameters such as the trajectory, landing point, speed, rotational speed, and steering of table tennis balls in real time, accurately capture the flight trajectory, distance and wind speed of arrows, and present them to the audience through 3D animation, MR and other technologies, providing professional AI technical and tactical analysis for the audience. This is also the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that AI technology has been applied to international public signal production for table tennis and archery events.
△InnoMotion's sports event AI product presents table tennis project parameters in real time
△InnoMotion's sports event AI product presents archery project parameters in real time
The excitement of the Olympic Games is inseparable from the dedication of every participating athlete and coach, who has always been on the journey of interpreting the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together", and now there is more AI in the cheering team.
At the Paris Olympics, the AI model participated in the whole process of athletes' competition and training evaluation. Based on the analysis capability of AI + big data, the AI-assisted training system can accurately evaluate the training status and effect of athletes, provide a scientific basis for the coaching team, and dynamically adjust the training plan to ensure the scientificity and effectiveness of training. For example, by capturing video of games and training with high-speed cameras, coaches are able to disassemble and evaluate the athletes' technical movements in detail.
△AI-assisted training system helps athletes improve their performance
It is worth mentioning that the AI model can also identify the weaknesses and habits of opponents, help formulate accurate game strategies, and can also develop personalized rehabilitation plans for injured athletes based on the type of injury and personal rehabilitation data. In addition, this technology enables the analysis of athletes' physiological data and training load to suggest personalized preventive measures.
For example, diving celebrities Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi will use Baidu's AI diving auxiliary training system for training, which can analyze the details of athletes' movements in real time, provide accurate quantitative analysis and guidance, and help the coaching team formulate more scientific training plans, so that athletes can achieve technological breakthroughs in a shorter time.
△ Athletes use the AI diving assistance training system for training
To help the world's approximately 11,000 athletes with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds move around the Olympic venues and comply with relevant regulations, the IOC partnered with Intel to develop AthleteGPT, a chatbot based on the Athlete365 platform.
This is a RAG solution based on Intel Xeon processors and Gaudi accelerators. Available in six languages, including Mandarin, English, French, Spain, Russian and Arabic, AthleteGPT not only responds to and interacts with athletes' daily inquiries, but also provides on-demand information during their stay in the Paris Olympic Village, allowing athletes to quickly access information about the venue, live broadcast of the Opening Ceremony, rules and sponsorship events, so they can focus on training and competition.
Compared with traditional information retrieval methods, AthleteGPT can quickly find the required content in a large amount of information and provide 24-hour uninterrupted service. This not only improves the efficiency of information acquisition, but also creates a friendlier communication experience for athletes. For the future of global sports, this application heralds the future of event service models, showing how the power of AI can create a more focused, professional and extreme competitive environment for athletes.
There are many kinds of Olympic events, and for commentators, commentators and media reporters, how to quickly retrieve accurate information about Olympic events and search for matching information from hundreds of years of Olympic history is a pain point in Olympic reporting and commentary.
To this end, Ali International's self-developed Agent framework supports the first large-scale model application in the Olympic field, which is open to the official commentators of the International Olympic Organizing Committee to assist in the commentary of various events. This AI application can quickly query and search the corresponding database or document, and answer the specific questions of the commentator through mathematical operations or complex reasoning, providing more professional and interesting support for the Olympic events. It not only improves the quality of live broadcast of the event, but also provides richer and more accurate commentary content for the audience.
△Schematic diagram of the working principle of the agent framework
It's not just athletes who benefit from AI. In contact sports, it is not easy for a referee to make an accurate decision on whether an athlete's momentary movement is a foul. The gymnastics program of this year's Paris Olympics used AI "referee" technology.
The AI "referee" in the field of gymnastics, the full name is The Judging Support System (JSS), which was developed by Fujitsu Corporation of Japan in cooperation with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The system captures the athlete's movements with four to eight carefully placed high-definition cameras, calculates the difficulty score of the athlete's movements, and accurately displays details that are difficult to judge with the naked eye, such as the angle at which the athlete turns.
△ Documentary dentifying sporting talent using AI
It's worth mentioning that the AI "judges" themselves don't make judgments, and only come in handy when a gymnast or coach files a complaint, or when there is a dispute within the referee team. By quickly providing relevant data analysis, including key indicators such as the completion of the action, the difficulty factor, and the technical execution, it provides a solid basis for the final judgment of the referee and ensures the fairness and transparency of the evaluation.
It is understood that this referee support system was first applied to pommel horse, rings and vault at the World Gymnastics Championships in 2019, and "debuted" at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. At the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships, the system has been widely used in all gymnastics events.
In terms of event security, the application of AI technology should not be underestimated. In the face of the severe challenges of cyber security in previous Olympic Games, the Organizing Committee of the Paris Olympic Games has deployed an advanced intelligent defense system, which is known as the "digital armor" of the Olympic Games. Through cloud computing technology and distributed cloud architecture, the organizing committee can flexibly allocate computing resources to deal with sudden large-scale cyber attacks. AI-powered facial recognition technology and behavior analysis systems to enhance security during competitions and prevent and respond to potential security threats.
△ Paris Olympic Games security system
In addition to the above applications, AI also plays a significant role in optimizing spectator management and demonstrating human care. In order to ensure the smooth running of the Games, key services such as venue logistics, spectator guidance, public safety, staffing and catering must be seamlessly integrated. Using the AI data collection system, organizers can adjust logistics at key locations in real time, improve on-site service efficiency, reduce on-site service wait times, enable seamless navigation within the Olympic venues, and save statistics for future Olympic and Paralympic planning. During the event, the system implemented real-time data collection for 22 venues, including Paris and Lille, to monitor the use of key venue space and services.
The security of cyberspace is equally important. For the first time, the Paris Olympics used artificial intelligence to monitor major social media platforms and flag accounts with online violence tendencies, providing athletes with a safe online space.
According to the International Olympic Committee, the 16-day Olympic Games saw more than 500 million interactions on social media, which brought challenges such as online violence, rumours, insults and threats, which could not only lead to disputes and bullying online, but also directly affect athletes' physical and mental health, offline life and career planning. For example, the World Athletics Federation (IAAF) studied online violence against athletes during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and found that 23 of the 161 active and former athletes' Twitter accounts were subjected to targeted abuse. On August 4 this year, the official Weibo "Weibo administrator" of the Sina Weibo community issued an announcement, pointing out that many netizens were stepping on the discussion of the Olympic table tennis event, and more than 300 accounts were banned.
To address this issue, the IOC is using artificial intelligence (AI) technology for the first time to provide a full range of cyberviolence prevention services to 15,000 athletes and more than 2,000 officials during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The online protection service starts 48 hours before the opening ceremony and lasts until 48 hours after the closing ceremony. The service, provided by United Kingdom AI company Signify Group Limited, covers all participating athletes and is open to all entourages and technical officials.
The AI system monitors major social platforms around the clock, including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok in more than 35 languages, detecting and flagging any potentially abusive messages in real time so that they can be processed by the relevant social media platforms and blocked even before athletes see them, effectively mitigating the adverse effects of online violence.
AI technology is also being used to restore precious historical images of the Olympic Games. On July 30, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled the precious images of the 1924 Paris Olympics for the first time, using Alibaba Cloud AI technology to restore the black and white images from 100 years ago to high-definition color images, commemorating the return of the Summer Olympics to Paris after a century of hiatus. The audience can clearly feel the fierce scene of the Olympic competition 100 years ago in the video.
△ 100-year-old black-and-white images were restored to color high-definition images
The restored historical images clearly show the entrance ceremony to the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games 100 years ago. Athletics is the focal point of the event, and with the help of AI cloud technology, spectators can enjoy a colourful version of the incredible strength, speed and endurance of the track and field athletes at Paris 1924.
△Historical image of the 1924 Paris Olympic Games
During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the crowd is dense and the environment is complex, and barrier-free facilities are indispensable for AI-assisted. The new navigation solution developed by AI and 3D modeling technology for the Paris Olympics has created a warm passage for people with disabilities. With the help of an app that integrates AI models, people with disabilities can move more freely in the park and venues based on voice broadcast navigation or real-time real-time real-time navigation. Para-athletes, coaches and spectators can gain more comprehensive information and adapt more quickly to new environments.
For spectators, the application of AI technology greatly enriches the viewing experience. Through 8K ultra-high-definition live broadcast, the audience can enjoy an unprecedented visual feast. It is worth mentioning that Intel's computer vision platform "Getty" can generate personalized highlights of the event according to the audience's interests, and distribute them to the corresponding audience.
When the Olympic flame burns on the banks of the Seine, it shines not only with sportsmanship, but also with technology and thought. The widespread and natural integration of AI at the Paris Olympics is an important milestone, demonstrating the revolutionary changes that technological innovation can bring to the Games.
Technology enhances the humanization of the experience, which has improved the viewing experience like never before; The maximization of athletes' performance effect is inseparable from AI-assisted training, wearable devices, and the research and development of new materials and sports equipment. The data-driven science of sports provides strong data support for event operation management and decision-making. Cyber security monitoring, facial recognition technology, sports injury prevention and rehabilitation training technology are used to ensure the safety of the event and the health of athletes. The application of cutting-edge technologies such as AI scoring system and sports tracking technology marks a new exploration and innovative practice in the field of sports technology...... The AI application of the Paris Olympics will also provide a precedent for future sports events, leading the trend of intelligent, digital and personalized events, and stimulating the development of sports.
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