How robots will keep the 2020 Olympics safe

Tom McIlroy

Nov 29, 2019

AFR

Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics say they’re preparing for the most innovative games in history, utilising ambitious facial recognition technology and robotics to boost security.

Less than a year from the July 24 opening ceremony, testing of facial recognition access systems is under way for Olympic and Paralympic events — set to provide secure entry to games sites to as many as 300,000 athletes, officials, media and volunteers.

Kato Kentaro, project director of media relations for 2020, told a briefing in Tokyo this week the games were expected to deliver a $US300 billion ($444 billion) economic boost to the Japanese economy, as well as a lasting infrastructure and technology legacy.

Images of every accredited person will be collected before competition begins, with their identification verified within 0.3 of a second from a database including more than 1.6 million faces.

Mr Kato said Tokyo’s security challenges were exacerbated by the lack of a single games precinct. Instead, events will take place at 43 new and existing sites in Tokyo and other cities.

“Everyone will have an ID card. At the games in Rio De Janeiro and London, the security guards checked the ID pass and the photo and let people in,” he said.

“This time our venues are all over Tokyo and some are in other prefectures of Japan, like Sapporo.

“One of our challenges is how to make a secure entry system. This solution is one of the new technologies we will introduce to Japan through the Tokyo Olympics.”

Autonomous patrolling surveillance robots, already roaming Tokyo’s Narita airport, will also be used at games sites, taking 360-degree video through omnidirectional cameras and l as metal detectors and thermal imaging sensors.

The robots can extend robotic arms to check suspicious objects around them. Another autonomous security robot, the REBORG-Z model, will provide multilingual information to spectators and officials and display emergency evacuation instructions in the event of a security threat or natural disaster.

Motoring giant Toyota has announced a Tokyo 2020 robot collaboration project with the games, designed to support the mobility of people at event venues.

Nobuhiko Koga, the chief officer of Toyota’s research centre, said the company was using expanded robotics programs as part of its efforts to transition to a mobility company.

Its human support robot will guide as many as 1000 guests to their seats in at Olympic stadium events, as well as delivering food and drinks ordered from dedicated tablet computers.

Special-use robots equipped with autonomous functions will also assist the competition, including retrieving equipment in field events such as javelin.

“At Tokyo 2020, we want to capture the imagination of spectators by providing support robots as we do our part to make the games a success,” he said.

Toyota is preparing to supply a fleet of more than 3700 cars to the games, 90 per cent of which will be electrified, part of efforts to achieve the lowest emissions target level possible.

More than 500 medals are being made with metals from recycled electronic devices and smartphones donated by the Japanese public.

After two years of collection, nearly 80,000 tonnes of gold, silver and bronze have been recycled from schools and businesses.