Porterfield's blog

The Best Technological Innovations at London 2012

2012-07-27T20:03:42Z

Anti-Gravity Treadmills

A company called AlterG has employed anti-gravity technology developed by NASA to create advanced treadmills that give the runner the feeling of only 20% of their actual weight. Running with that feeling of weightlessness is a highly effective tool for physical therapy and athletes in training. Team USA runner Shannon Rowbury, who will run the 1500m at London 2012, used AlterG to recover from a stress fecture in her femur. She was back on the ground running only 6 weeks after the diagnosis, and said that she doesn't think she "would have made the World team last year if I didn’t have AlterG to help me train through my injury." ^[1] Run, Shannon, Run!

Virtual Reality Cycling

As an Olympic cyclist, it might be hard to prepare yourself mentally and physically for a race course to which you have zero access beforehand. Training for far-off courses has been especially hard for the isolated Australian team, but this is no longer a problem. Top cyclists and scientists came together at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra to develop a virtual model of the London 2012 cycling course. The team has yet to ride on the course in reality, but they've already completed the track multiple times in training back home in Australia. Good on ya, Aussies!

Prosthetics

A year ago, a South African named Oscar Pistorious qualified for London 2012 as a runner in the 400 meters and the 4x400 meter relay. You've probably heard of him. They call him "Blade Runner" and "The Fastest Man with No Legs". That's right, Oscar runs on carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, a technology that has been rapidly improving every year he's been competing. His prosthetics have been an extremely controversial subject for the IOC, but next week, Pistorious will finally become the first disabled man to compete against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics. And he owes it all to the amazing scientists behind the technology. If he'd been born 100, or even 50 years ago, people would have laughed at his athletic ambitions. Now, he's going for gold!

Taekwondo's Protector and Scoring System (PSS)

Unlike FIFA, the WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) is welcoming technology with open arms. They have no choice, really, as the Korean martial art's foothold in the Olympics has been jeopardized since becoming an official sport at Sydney 2000. Despite having 70 million practitioners worldwide, notable critics have said it should be removed from the games because of its complex scoring system and inconsistent judging. ^[2] Well haters, starting this week, you will have no argument. At London 2012, the WTF will implement a new scoring system, PSS, which automatically measures the strength of each kick to the body and scores it. It has been tested for the past 2 years and also allows for an instant video replay, thus insuring a Taekwando competition that will be as fair and transparent as possible.

Electronic Starting Blocks

The watch company Omega, the official timekeepers of the London 2012 Olympic Games, have developed new starting block technology for both track and field and swimming events. The new track and field blocks (pictured at right) are an especially welcome addition to the sport, as it marks the first time they will be entirely electronic. As opposed to the old system, which has been in place since the Montreal 1976 games, "the new blocks use electronic sensors that measure the force against the block to determine reaction time" ^[3], thus ensuring that false-start disqualifications are extremely accurate. The new swimming starter blocks will light up to indicate who placed, which is more of an improvement on the spectators end rather than for the athletes.

References

How Many Hours of Olympic Coverage Can You Handle?

2012-05-24T23:40:08Z

Many news outlets are highlighting the ridiculously unprecedented amount of hours of Olympic coverage that NBC Universal will be broadcasting this summer on their vast arsenal of television channels, but I'll get to that later. First I want to address the most epic news about NBCU's upcoming coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, which runs from July 27 - August 12...

For the first time ever, NBCOlympics.com will live-stream every event of every sport, totaling 3,500 hours of coverage

That's right folks. No more tape-delayed, overly edited nonsense that cuts out all of the suspense and build-up. No more missing the opening round of Kayak Sprint or the grand finale of the 50k Race Walk (yes, walking is a sport).

Don't get me wrong, I love the way NBC's slickly-produced back stories get me all teary eyed and proud to be an American, and Bob Costas is a legend, but I'm glad we finally earned the right (from our corporate overlords) to watch every single event live.

NBCU has finally come to terms with reality: we want to watch content when and where we so desire, with limited commercial interruption. Realistically, for an Olympic event we actually care about, the "when" is "live" and the "where" is under our bed covers or behind our cubicle walls, on a laptop, iPhone, or iPad. NBC is developing two apps, one for streaming live events, and one for highlight shows.

Let's face it, the highly sought-after 18-35 demographic does not watch television in the traditional sense anymore. We stream stuff on our computers. Take this TV Guide quote from Joel McHale (star of the NBC show Community) as an example- "I did a stand-up show at the University of Arizona and there were 30 kids who ran the event. I said, 'How many of you watch Community?' and they all raised their hands, which was great. I asked, 'How many watch it Thursdays at 8pm?' Zero hands. I asked, 'How many of you have TVs?' Four hands. I asked, 'How many of you watch on computers?' All hands went up."

Enough said.

For those of you who still watch regular television, NBCU will be showing 2,035 hours of the Olympics across 9 channels

NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, two specialty channels, and a 3D platform will all broadcast this summer's Olympics for the equivalent of 231 days, beating the 2008 Beijing coverage by almost 2,000 hours.

Important Figures:

272.5 Hours - broadcasted by NBC over 17 days. Daytime coverage will begin on most weekdays at 10 a.m. ET/PT and at 5 a.m. ET/PT on the weekends and running until midnight.
56 Hours - of long-form tennis televised by Bravo from July 28 to Aug. 3.
292.5 Hours - of U.S. team sports broadcasted by NBC Sports Network, the home of Team USA, the most ever for an Olympic cable network.
73 Hours - of Boxing broadcasted on CNBC, including the debut of women's boxing. Everything from elimination bouts to the men's and women's finals will air over 16 days.
770 Hours - of basketball and soccer on specialty channels available to cable, satellite and telco providers.
155.5 Hours - of long-form Olympic programming on MSNBC, including up to 18 medal rounds and 20 sports, from badminton to basketball to soccer to wrestling.

I'm sure I'm missing something, like the amount of hours the Olympics will be broadcast on a special 3D channel, but you get the point. The London 2012 Olympics will be the most viewer-accessible Olympics of all time, and that's dandy!

Poll

More Riots in London a Year Before Olympics

2011-08-10T00:20:59Z

Exactly a year from now, London will be hosting the Summer Olympic Games (19 sports on the day, to be exact), but the condition of the city right now is not appropriate for hosting one of the world's biggest events. For the third night in a row, rioters have ravaged, looted, and set fire to the city, the worst civil unrest in memory.

In a stroke of tragic irony, all 204 competing nations have sent managers to London this week, specifically to prepare for transportation, accommodations, and food for their Olympic teams. Obviously their concerns have shifted to security issues, as they've witnessed London's most urban areas become an apocalyptic nightmare. Croydon, Hackney, Notting Hill, Clapham, Peckham, East Dulwich, Enfield, Islington, Hackney, Camden Town, Soho and Bethnal Green are just some of the neighborhoods that have been burned and looted by gangs, but the violence has also spread to other cities in the U.K., including Birmingham and Liverpool.

As the world watches thousands of police in riot gear failing to cope with London's unrest, one must wonder if this is a city that is prepared to host the Olympics? Since the riots began, LOCOG has maintained that proper security plans are in place and they are constantly being reviewed. Security has always been a top priority for these games since the day London got the bid, but police and firefighters have already admitted that they are overstretched and cannot respond to every call. Despite such deficiency, LOCOG has not expressed concern over security for the games; they've only admitted that it's not exactly a great advert to bring people to the city.

So far, there has been no damage to the Olympic Venues, but soccer/football matches are being cancelled. Wednesday's friendly between England and Holland at Wembley Stadium has been cancelled, as well as every league match in the South and East London. East London is where a lot of the riots are occurring, a section of the city that is home to the Olympic Park.

As a result of these riots, would you cancel a trip to the Olympics? Comment below, and check out my last blog post to analyze a really unfortunate coincidence involving these riot's and London 2012's choice of advertising music.

London Calling

2011-08-04T18:32:31Z

LOCOG, the organizing committee of London 2012, has recently been using the Clash song London Calling for their promotional material, causing quite a stir. Nobody is really upset about it (shame on you if you don't like the Clash or this song), but everyone is baffled. If you're not sure why this song choice is puzzling, just take a look at the lyrics of London Calling over at the Lyric Wiki. You could also listen to the song below, but good luck understanding Joe Strummer's every word.

The Clash - London Calling (1979)

Porterfield's blog

The Best Technological Innovations at London 2012

Anti-Gravity Treadmills

Virtual Reality Cycling

Prosthetics

Taekwondo's Protector and Scoring System (PSS)

Electronic Starting Blocks

References

How Many Hours of Olympic Coverage Can You Handle?

For the first time ever, NBCOlympics.com will live-stream every event of every sport, totaling 3,500 hours of coverage

For those of you who still watch regular television, NBCU will be showing 2,035 hours of the Olympics across 9 channels

Poll

More Riots in London a Year Before Olympics

London Calling

Oscar Pistorious Qualifies for London

A McDonalds of Olympic Proportions

South Sudan Will Send Athletes to London 2012

US Women and the Epic Soccer Failure

Team Deutschland Raises the Bar

Rain on the Poms' Parade

Beatles Reunion at London 2012

Pyeongchang Will Host in 2018

BBC to Host Olympics Debate

Kurt Angle Going for Gold Again

VideoEdit

Olympians Allowed to Tweet in 2012

Last Chance for Tickets

British Football 2012: The Drama Continues

Olympics Wiki Presents... Our First Video

Olympians Going Green for Earth Day

When Life Imitates Art: Olympic Planning Edition

West Ham United to take over Olympic Stadium

Iran Threatens to Boycott the Olympics