Chinese sportspersons did a great job at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, winning 88 medals in total. But did you know the cool technologies - even space technologies - behind their success?
Quan Hongchan won the gold in diving. This 14-year-old new star said an AI training system helped her train. Baidu developed the system to record a diver's bodyposture (姿势). A diver lasts less than two seconds before getting into water from the diving board. But the AI can catch much important information, such as the diver's starting height, entry speed and so on. The information is sent to coaches right away.
Before setting out for Tokyo, some Chinese players visitedthe China Academy of Aerospace Aerodymamics (中国航天空气动力技术研究院). The technologies there are normally used to develop rockets. But they can also help rowers, swimmers and cyclists.
"For example, rowers in the women's national team came to my lab and used a wind tunnel to do experiments," said Jia Yi from the academy. The tunnel can make winds with different speeds. They controlled the airdrag (阻力) on their bodies. It helped them change their movements in order to behave better at the games.
But there's even more. The national table tennis team has a popular coach called Pongbot. It's a robot that can make difficult shots and never gets tired. Su Bingtian, the first Chinese sprinter (a person who takes part in short, fast races) to reach the Olympic 100-meter final, uses high-speed cameras to record his training. "The use of technology will help improve the nation's overall competitiveness in sports," said Huang Haiyan, a professor at the Shanghai University of Sport.
