Much has been said about this year’s Olympic games, and from the safety of the athletes to the management of the games to ensure the games do not become a super-spreader event. However, that has not stopped Japan from creating and introducing new innovations and creative excitement to allow the games to continue with pizzazz and sustainability. Check out some of the unique elements of this year’s Olympic games!
1. Cardboard Beds
Yes. Beds made from cardboard. In line with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games’ Sustainability Plan, athletes will be sleeping on beds made from recycled cardboard. The bed frames will be used for both the Olympic Games and reused for the Paralympic Games. After both games, the bed frame and the modular mattresses will be recycled to avoid a trip to the landfill.
The mattresses are not to be underestimated as well. The creator of the beds and mattresses, Airweave, has said that these modular mattresses are designed to accommodate the wide variety of body types for different athletes. The mattress comes with three separate blocks, to support the head and shoulders, waist, and legs. Athletes are able to order varying levels of firmness in each module to suit their specific needs.
A total of 18,000 bed frames and mattress will be made for the summer Olympics, and about 8,000 of these will be reused for the Paralympic games. Really makes you wonder if you can get your hands on one just to try…
2. Autonomous Vehicles
Given that the Olympics village for Tokyo 2020 spans 44hectres, with 21 different buildings, it sometimes is a bit of stretch to move a team from place to place. Introducing Tokyo’s solution for that, the Toyota e-Palette electric autonomous vehicle.
First unveiled in 2018, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is the first real-world application of these vehicles. These small autonomous shuttles, capable of carrying up to 20 people, will shuttle athletes within the Olympic village.
Toyota, being one of the Game’s main sponsors, has dedicated themselves to ensuring the games are in line with the sustainability plan, by providing 3,700 vehicles and mobility products to help athletes with transportation, and 90% of these mobility products are electric powered. That’s definitely a green thumbs up for the Tokyo Olympics.
3. Humanoid Robots
A variety of robots are being used throughout the Tokyo 2020 Games. This is thanks to the “Tokyo 2020 Robot Project”, led by Organizing committee of the 2020 games as well as the Game’s robotic partners, which include Toyota Motor Corporation.
For a full list of robots, you can refer to their website here.
But the one we want to focus on is the Field Support Robot (FSR). The FSR is a special-use robot that is deployed mainly during the throwing event operations at the Olympic stadium. Its job is to retrieve the javelins, disks or any equipment that has been thrown as part of the sport. Essentially, a robotic Golden Retriever XD. The aim of the robot is said to reduce the amount of time needed to retrieve the items while reducing manpower. To us, its definitely a faster and more efficient way to retrieve these items so kudos to the team!
4. Olympic Medals Design
Every Olympic Games is a chance for the host country to show off their unique creativity and innovation through various elements of the games, one such element is the medals. For Tokyo 2020, this involved creating the medals from recycled e-waste from all around Japan. It was a two-year national effort in Japan to collect enough recycled e-waste across Japan to make about 5,000 gold, silver, and bronze medals for the Games, with up to 90% participation rate from the Japanese cities, town and villages. Altogether, 6.2 million phones and 79,000 tonnes of material were collected from the two year project.
The medal design for the 2020 Tokyo Games, was to reflect the concept that, in order to achieve glory, athletes have to strive for victory on a daily basis. The medals are designed to resemble rough stones, that have been polished and now shine with light and brilliance. To be honest, it is a beautiful theme that I feel we should follow in our own lives 😊 (even though we are not athletes ah).
Fun fact: did you know that the International Olympic Committee regulates that the sides of the medal design must include the following:
- Nike, Greek Goddess of victory, in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium
- The official name of the respective games in roman numerals (eg. Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020)
- The Olympic five rings symbol
5. Rise of TikTok
You may be wondering how is TikTok unique to the Games this year? Well, because of the rise in TikTok, we the public can get a glimpse of what’s going on during the Olympics from the athlete’s point of view. This means that countries and the public can get to see their favourite athletes in more casual situations during the games instead of just on the field, and a glimpse into their lives as an athlete. For me, it is a rather interesting sight scrolling through TikTok and seeing international athletes rave about the food in the canteen, or stare in disbelieve at their cardboard beds.
Here are some of our favourite ones. Enjoy!
Team Singapore
Singapore will be sending 23 athletes competing in a record of 12 sports, including 3 new sports to debut Singapore athletes. These new sports include diving, equestrian, and fencing, with various veteran faces (eg. Joseph Schooling in Swimming) and some new faces (eg. Johnathan Chan in Diving) You can view the profiles of the Team Singapore athletes here.
Cheer on our athletes as they participate in the Olympics and Go Team Singapore!
