Voyeur-Proof Fabric Blocks Infrared, Keeps Olympians Privates Private
By John Oncea, Editor
The 2024 Summer Olympics features the best athletes in the world competing on the biggest stage. It also features gold-medal performances from RF technologies in everything from measuring performance to broadcasting events to … keeping voyeurs at bay?
Back when I wore a younger man’s clothes, my brother and I staged several neighborhood mini-Olympics. The two of us, along with our friends, threw the shotput we found under the local high school’s bleachers and a repurposed tent pole that served as our javelin.
We’d engage in races of all distances, both on the ground and in the pool. We even set up what I still believe to be to this day the best event ever created and included, well, everything. A sort of combination obstacle course, endurance, and skill challenge that I would love to try again today but doubt I’d be able to finish.
The best part? It was just us kids – no parents involved at all. Of course, this meant no spectators either, unless my mom happened to be hanging the laundry out to dry in the middle of our “arena.”
Now the “real” Olympics – including the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad* taking place July 26 to August 11 in Paris and 16 additional French cities – don’t suffer for the lack of exposure like our mini-Olympics did. The International Olympic Committee has established a quota of 6,000 “E” (press) accreditations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 which will be distributed by National Olympic Committees to press organizations in their country.
NBC, which will broadcast at least nine hours of coverage from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET each day, has lined up a roster of more than 150 commentators including Olympians and Paralympians who have won a combined 90 Olympic medals. It also includes non-Olympians such as Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg, as well as Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Michaels’ A.I.-generated voice narrating daily streaming video recaps.
Phew. That’s a lot of exposure.
Still, thanks to Japanese sports equipment manufacturer Mizuno, something that won’t be exposed are the underwear and bodies of Japan’s female athletes in the form of images circulated on pornographic sites. Yeah, you read that right – using infrared cameras to produce photographs that reveal images of an athlete’s underwear and body underneath their uniforms is a thing. In fact, according to The Independent, “Japan saw more than 5,000 arrests for camera voyeurism in 2021 – up from 1,930 a decade before – according to figures from the country’s National Police Agency (NPA).”
Eww.
* Even though this year’s Summer Olympics are the 33rd version it will be the 30th time the event actually took place. The 6th, 12th, and 13th games were all canceled because of World Wars I and II.
Using Science To Block Voyeurs
Athletes and event organizers have faced increased challenges with voyeuristic photography as camera technology, including infrared ones, advanced. “Reiko Shiota, a member of the badminton team that competed at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, saw photos of her breasts and lower body widely circulated on the internet,” writes LeMonde. “The presence of cameras disturbed her during matches, even though she always ‘tried to ignore the sound of camera shutters pointed at my chest or bottom.’
“Airi Hatakeyama, who represented Japan in rhythmic gymnastics at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, was ‘shocked to find that some people [were] sexualizing her’ with suggestive photos, while she was still a minor.”
The final straw came in 2020, writes Interesting Engineering, “Athletes approached the Japanese Olympic Committee after they found their infrared camera images shared on social media platforms with sexually explicit captions.” This led Mizuno to develop a fabric containing a material that absorbs light within the infrared spectrum leaving them nearly wholly opaque under both visible and infrared light.
According to Mizuno, “The newly developed infrared blocking fabric is the product of joint development and co-creation between Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., Kyodo Printing Co., Ltd., and Mizuno.” The fabric design and processing provide it with the essential foundation of athletic performance expected of Mizuno products and Japan’s women’s volleyball, athletics, and table tennis teams are expected to wear uniforms made from the fabric.
Mizuno’s “fabric works similarly to stealth aircraft by absorbing and deflecting infrared light, making it difficult for infrared cameras and sensors to detect the athletes,” writes Tech Times. “In tests conducted by Mizuno, a black ‘C’ printed beneath a layer of ‘Game uniform fabric’ and the new infrared-absorbing fabric was almost completely hidden when photographed with an infrared camera.”
Adding more layers to the new fabric would offer better protection but Mizuno had to keep in mind the athletes’ worries about the heat at the Paris Olympic Games. In short, the uniforms have to strike a balance between privacy and comfort, making sure the athletes are shielded from invasive photography while staying cool and comfortable.
Gold Medal RF Technology In Action
Mizuno’s fabric is just one of the many RF-related technologies on display during this Summer’s Olympic Games. Others will be put to use to support various aspects of the event's operations, broadcasting, and security including those typically used by broadcasting and media.
Over 11,000 hours of broadcast coverage are planned for the Games and live broadcast signals will be distributed using cloud-based technology (OBS Live Cloud) for the first time. To enhance the storytelling of the Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) will introduce cine-style cameras with a shallow depth of field that will capture athletes’ motions better.
“RF technology allows for remote broadcasting units to capture and transmit feeds from different locations within the venue, ensuring comprehensive coverage,” writes Amphenol RF. “Drones equipped with cameras use RF signals to remote control and transmit high-definition video feeds which provide a unique aerial view of the events.” In addition, RF-dependent equipment such as wireless microphones and cameras will be used extensively for capturing and transmitting content.
RF technologies also will be used to measure and transmit data about athletes’ performances, allowing viewers to see detailed information such as a diver’s jump height, airtime, and water entry speed. Similar data will be available for other sports, enhancing the viewer experience and providing insights into athletic performances.
An event the magnitude of the Olympics requires a massive amount of security and, according to CNN, RF technologies will play a role there, too. The HELMA-P anti-drone laser weapon system will use radar and radio frequency sensors to detect and locate potentially threatening drones. This system has a one-kilometer range and provides a calibrated response to the drone threat, from dazzling the drone’s observation instruments to the neutralization of a mini or micro drone by altering its structure, causing it to fall in a few seconds.
Finally, RF technologies will support various communication needs, including the wireless networks which will be crucial for coordinating events, security, and logistics. Temporary RF installations will be set up to provide complete coverage of Olympic sites, as will various RF monitoring tools to ensure smooth operations.
The French National Frequency Agency (ANFR) is responsible for the Olympics’ spectrum management and will deploy several technologies to monitor and prevent interference. This includes laboratory vehicles, which have a telescopic mast and are useful for clearing the measurement antennae from obstacles on the ground. To pinpoint the location of interference, other portable equipment will be needed to identify electromagnetic sources and detect interference including battery-powered portable receivers and spectrum analyzers, antennae, cables, filters, and other low-noise pre-amplifiers.
ANFR is also responsible for determining and assigning frequencies for use at all event venues, the Olympic Village, and other locations, as well as processing thousands of frequency applications, with nearly 100,000 expected by the end of the Games.
Networks of equipment using the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) technique will be installed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games venues and adapted temporary facilities will be deployed in Tahiti for the surfing event.
“RF planning is necessary to avoid interference and ensure reliable signal transmission during large-scale sporting events,” Amphenol RF writes. “This includes frequency coordination to manage the spectrum effectively. Redundant RF systems are often deployed to ensure uninterrupted broadcasting and communication in case of any technical failure.”
The use of RF technologies at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be extensive and critical to the event’s success. From broadcasting and performance measurement to security and communications, these technologies will help deliver an immersive and seamless experience for athletes, spectators, and viewers worldwide.
And, for the Japanese women athletes, it will provide peace of mind.