The Olympics will enable Japan to demonstrate its robotics capabilities and showcase the future of sporting events, according to market research firm GlobalData.
The Toyko Games have already included a drone display in the opening ceremony, a robot making a half-court shot on the basketball court and a rugby ball delivered autonomously in the first sevens match.
Field event support robots, created by Toyota in conjunction with the International Association of Athletics Federations, will also be used to autonomously fetch javelins or shot puts thrown by competitors.
Charlotte Newton, thematic analyst at GlobalData, said: “The Games were always likely to showcase robotics, given Japan’s track record of showing off its tech skills at past events, but the situation following Covid-19 offers a unique opportunity for Japan’s robots to shine.”
“Much like everyday society, sporting events have turned to technology to keep the attending public safe and help with daily operations over the past year. Furthermore, it is unlikely that the Paris Games will want to take a step back to an all-human workforce in 2024. The future of sporting events is robotics,” Newton added.
According to GlobalData, robotics is one of the key technologies that will impact business and society in the coming years, and this pandemic-hit, spectator-less Games will offer the opportunity for Japan to showcase its specialism.
Sam Holt, thematic analyst and co-author of a soon-to-be-published report Japan Tech, said: “The Japanese cabinet office has, in the last few years, been pressing its vision of Society 5.0, which merges the cyber and physical worlds. Robotics plays a big part. The technology we will see on show will react to the real world and augment it.”
