Techno Olympics 2012

TechStrip Olympic Special - II:
(In case if you missed I - Top Android Apps for Olympics)


London Olympic Games 2012 is called the Twitter Olympics or Data Olympic,in short this 2012 Olympics is the most modern and technology driven games ever!

Here's a quick look at the most interesting tech stories to watch at the London Olympics.

Robotic cameras: 

Getty Images will install robotic cameras at a few locations at the Olympic Games. They can be controlled remotely and swivel 360 degrees. "The biggest help will come from cameras stashed in floodlights, rafters and scaffolding in and around Olympic venues to provide imagery from places inaccessible to human photographers due to space or security reasons," NBC News wrote.

Souped-up sound:

 If you like to believe in the Tooth Fairy, don't read the next sentence:

Much of the sound you hear on TV during the Olympics isn't real -- well, at least in the sense that some of it wasn't recorded during the event being shown. Some of the audio is recorded in advance, in optimized conditions, and then superimposed on the TV broadcast, writes The Atlantic. 

The site gives the example of archery, which an Olympics audio engineer says is based on the sound he heard watching "Robin Hood." He captured it by putting a special mic on the ground between the archer and target, which, as Alexis Madrigal points out, creates a sound no person could actually experience at the event.

Two-part track: 

Look, no spikes! A new surface on the Olympic track in London means runners won't have to wear spiked shoes. "Unlike other track designs that combine traction and shock-absorption in an upper layer of rubber granules, the Mondo track separates these functions, with a cushion backing for shock absorption and a solid upper layer that optimizes slip resistance, traction and durability," the BBC writes. "This design cuts the need for the spikes on athletes' running shoes to penetrate the running surface."

Prosthetics:

 " The Blade Runner" and "the fastest man with no legs," South African Oscar Pistorius will be the first person to compete in the able-bodied Olympics using prosthetic legs. After some controversy about whether prosthetics should be allowed in the Olympics, Pistorius will run the 400 meters and the 4x400 meter relay on specially made carbon-fiber prosthetic limb.

Data-head athletes: 

As said earlier,some people are calling this the "Twitter Olympics", the "Data Olympics." Many athletes are using sleep-tracking devices and motion-capture systems to understand, with a new level of precision, how their bodies work.According to the Financial Times, some biometric device companies are trading athletes their participation for data that they can use to improve their body-tracking gadgets.

Virtual cycling: 

Australian cyclists have been training on London's cycling course even thought it's thousands of miles away by using virtual reality. As the Australian Broadcast Corporation notes in a video package about the technology, the cyclists watch a screen that looks like a video game but actually is a "mile for mile, hill for hill recreation of the London Olympic road cycling course."

NASA treadmill: 

American runner Shannon Rowbury, meanwhile, has been training for London with a treadmill that simulates weightlessness. The AlterG treadmill uses anti-gravity technology developed by NASA to give runners the feeling that they are only 20% of their actual weight, the company says. In an interview posted on the company's website, Rowbury said the treadmill helped her start running much more quickly after a stress fracture.

Low-tech suits: 

We tend to think of the Olympics becoming higher-tech over time, but new technologies of course bring controversy and questions about how much help athletes should receive from space-age materials and equipment. High-tech Speedo swimsuits,called LZR Racer, are credited with helping swimmers shatter world records in 2008. But they will be banned at the London Olympics, leading to questions about how fast swimmers will go without this technological aid. At a news conference, Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals in Beijing, said that records will fall in London even without the tech. "If somebody wants a record, it's going to be broken."

Electronic blocks: 

Omega, the official timekeeper of the games, is debuting new starting equipment for swimming and track-and-field events in London. The track starting blocks will be fully electronic for the first time. Previously, 1970s technology required athletes to push back the blocks 5 millimeters to register a start. The swimming starting blocks now will light up to indicate who placed first, second and third.

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Input Courtesy : CNN