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Chips with everything as Olympics serve up a technological feast
SYDNEY, Sept 12 (AFP) - The Olympic battle cry of faster, higher, stronger will be given a space-age spin during the Sydney Olympics with tracking devices, digital images, speed sensors and micro chips galore being used in a variety of sports. Thousands of spectators and millions of television viewers worldwide will be updated with the speed of athletes in their long jump and pole vault run ups and see a digital image of close finishes. Photo finishes are old technology with digital cameras replacing conventional film. Swatch, the official timekeeper of the Games, claim the cameras will relay images directly onto a computer which flashes pictures to stadium screens and broadcasters for worldwide television distribution. "There will not be any pictures taken with ordinary cameras at the Sydney Olympics - digital cameras record a picture of time," said Mike Gibbons, an engineer for Swatch. "Every part of the body or bike or boat is on the finish line at the particular time the image is recorded. "In the long jump and pole vault we are going to provide the peak speed during an athlete's run up. In the past it was just a case of how far or how high they jumped, now runway speed can be illustrated." Marathon runners will also be tracked every step of the way thanks to tiny transponder chips in their shoelaces. Exact times of every runner for five kilometre sections of the marathon will be flashed to stadium scoreboards, officials and television watchers. Similar devices will be used in road walking, road cycling and the triathlon events being staged in the shadow of the famous Sydney Opera House. The technology people have come up with ingenious solutions to the tricky problem of fitting the transponders. While the five gram chips will be attached to runners' shoelaces, the triathletes will have them in a velcro strap worn on the ankle and cyclists will carry a credit card sized transponder in a pocket in their bib number. At sea, craft in some sailing events will be equipped with a mini global positioning system to pinpoint their position to within a metre. And in keeping with Sydney's boast of being an environmentally friendly Games a revolutionary "concept" car that produces no harmful gases will act as the pace vehicle for the men's and women's marathons. Developed by Opel, and brought to Sydney as part of Holden's sponsorship of the Olympics, the car runs on hydrogen and has been dubbed "Hydrogen1". "It is a demonstration of our commitment to technological and environmental leadership," said Holden's managing director Peter Hanenberger.
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