Games showcasing smart excellence

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A bird-eye view of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre’s Tennis Centre (HUANG ZONGZHI / XINHUA)

Hangzhou, along with five other cities in Zhejiang province, is presenting a smart and safe sports event to the world.

Many high-tech applications have been installed during the Hangzhou Asian Games, running now until 8 October, 2023, said Chen Weiqiang, executive secretary-general of the Games’ organising committee and vice-mayor of Hangzhou.

The Games have entered the era of digitalisation, Chen said, adding that smart control systems, enabled by 5G technology, internet of things, big data and artificial intelligence, among other technologies, have been installed at major competition venues.

The first demonstration of a 5G-A 10-gigabit network has been installed along the route connecting the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre and the Asian Games Village, according to the committee.

Passive IoT is another communication technology widely applied to achieve smart management during the Games, the committee said.

The Hangzhou Esports Centre uses passive IoT tags to monitor environmental temperatures and humidity in real time. The technology has also been employed in the Asian Games Village to facilitate the tracking of logistics vehicles and warehouse management.

Playing table tennis with a robot is demonstrated in the Asian Games Village (WENG XINYANG / XINHUA)

“Smart viewing” is also on offer for those keen on having an immersive experience of the Games without buying a ticket, said Mao Genhong, who is also deputy secretary-general of the Games’ organising committee.

“Space is limited at the venues, so many people will want to watch the Games via online viewing platforms,” Mao said.

Tickets for the competitions were in such demand that most of them were sold out soon after they went on sale online on 8 July. When offline ticket sales opened on 23 August, there were not many tickets left to sell, Mao said.

To ensure a safe Games, the committee has built a three-dimensional medical emergency network, which consists of the medical points and clinics at the venues, the comprehensive outpatient clinics in the Asian Games Village, designated hospitals, emergency transport ambulances and ambulance helicopters, according to Mao.

“We have set up a total of 133 infirmaries, 127 FOP (field of play) medical points, and 83 medical points for spectators, which are equipped to provide basic medical treatment, first aid, and referrals,” Mao said.

“For those sports with a high probability of injury, such as mountain biking, we have set up medical helicopters to prepare for life-saving rescue. Altogether we have 1,884 medical staff on duty to ensure medical security during the Games.”

In addition, the organising committee has carried out a series of preparations for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, the safety of drinking water, and the health and safety of the public, Mao said.

“We have established a smart infectious disease monitoring and early-warning system, which includes real-time monitoring of people who have a fever, diarrhoea and other symptoms,” Mao said. “This will allow us to carry out emergency treatment and timely detection.”