Tokyo 2020, the Olympics of robots: on the stands and on the field with the athletes

Greeting children or picking up javelins: the Japanese obsession with robots comes to the Olympics. Tokyo 2020, the Olympics of robots.

Considering the all-Japanese obsession with robots, the Tokyo Olympics could not fail to have, during the highly anticipated and bumpy 2020 edition, mechanical assistants designed for athletes and spectators. With the aim of making Tokyo 2020 the most innovative and technological sports celebration ever, the Organizing Committee has shown, in these days, the types of robots that will be available to the public and athletes.

Here are the models we are talking about and what will be their role during the competitions.

The robo-mascots and the robo-operators

They are called Miraitowa and Someity and are the result of a partnership between Toyota Motor Corporation and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The two irresistibly designed robots will greet, shake hands and welcome attendees in arenas and other venues associated with the Japanese competition. They feature a variety of facial expressions and, thanks to forehead-mounted cameras, will be able to recognize people nearby so they can interact with them.

The second ones will be the cameramen of those watching the Olympics from around the world from home. They are called T-HR3. During the Games, they will broadcast sound and images from the field like real TV operators. One implementation could be the ability to interact between the T-HR3s, which would allow the viewer an even more immersive experience.

Bots for the interface and those for picking up objects on the field

The T-TR1 robot, equipped with a camera on an almost life-size display, will allow those who cannot be physically present at the Olympics to interact and explore the places where athletic competitions will be held. By appearing on the display, it will also be possible to converse remotely.

The Field Support Robot (FSR) is equipped with a self-driving system and will be able to retrieve objects such as hammers or javelins and lead the way for staff - human, it should be noted - through the shortest path. In this way it will help reduce the time of recovering objects in the field by encouraging a more intense pace of the competitions.

The Olympic Committee has not hidden its intention to press the accelerator on technological innovation: but the point is also green technology. So much so that the Olympic flame, the symbol par excellence of the most international sporting event, will be powered by hydrogen.

Giuseppe Giordano