“The Games Have Begun!” — In honor of The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics kick-off today, with the phenomenal Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in South Korea, here are a few of our favorite ways tech is transforming the games this year!
Coverage
NBC will be providing 4K High Dynamic Range [HDR] coverage of the games to its partners for the first time in the U.S.! Adding to the viewer-experience, South Korea’s mobile carrier and sponsor of the 2018 Olympics, KT Corp.[in collaboration with Intel] plans to deliver the first fifth-generation [5G] network broadcast of the games! This year, you can expect to see great use of 360-degree virtual reality [VR] cameras and first-person/athlete perspectives of the action!
Alexa Updates
If you find you’re always missing that awe-dropping performance everyone is chatting about, speak up and ask Alexa to keep you up-to-date with the event schedule! Yesterday, Amazon updated Alexa with some gold medal-worthy skills, and she can now inform you of game times, the results of high-profile athletes, or even a daily Olympic recap!
Social Media
Looking to share in the excitement of the games via social media with the latest Olympic-branded filter? Snapchat is a qualifying medalist! NBC will stream live Olympic coverage via Snapchat to users in the U.S., and the Olympic Channel team will provide an “Our Stories” Snapchat channel providing users with archival footage.
Getting Around in PyeongChang
Lucky enough to attend the games? The event venue has robots available to answer your questions and make sure you’re not late for the next big competition! [You’ll find these robots providing assistance to travelers in Seoul’s airport as well!] Need transportation to and from the rink? Hop on one of South Korea’s 5G-equipped, self-driving buses!
Keeping Warm
The US Olympic team will be fighting the cold temps in PyeongChang by sporting Ralph Lauren parkas with wearable heat technology. The temperature of the parka can be adjusted using a phone, and it will keep most athletes warm through an entire day of competition before the 11-hr pocket battery will need to be recharged!
Hanging out in the stands? Visa also introduced payment-enabled Olympic pins, stickers, and gloves with embedded, prepaid amounts to ensure the fans stay warm too! Check them out here!
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