Chinese AI making all the smart moves at Paris Olympics

Virtual athletes

Chinese tech company iFlytek is showcasing its latest AI innovations at China House, a pavilion located in the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris.

The main attractions are two digital Chinese athletes — AI versions of swimmer Zhang Yufei and gymnast Zou Jingyuan. The "virtual athletes" are almost indistinguishable from their real-life counterparts, and have captured the attention of visitors with their lifelike appearance and expressions.

They greet visitors with phrases like "Hello, I am Zhang Yufei, pleased to meet you!", creating an experience that feels like interacting with the real athletes.

The virtual AI athletes are equipped with advanced AI technologies developed by iFlytek, including speech synthesis, speech recognition, semantic understanding, lipmovement prediction, and image processing.

Even in the bustling and noisy environment of the pavilion, they can accurately assess the speech of visitors and respond appropriately, thanks to sophisticated multi-speaker speech recognition technology, iFlytek said.

The AI versions of Zhang and Zou can seamlessly switch between Chinese, English, and French, and engage with athletes and visitors from around the world without the need for translation devices, iFlytek added.

This ability to handle a multitude of questions from diverse cultural backgrounds showcases the power of its multilingual intelligent voice technology, the company said.

Potential to revolutionize

Another notable Chinese innovation being featured in Paris is the "smart" soccer ball embedded with a chip that can perform 500 recognition actions per second. This technology aids match officials in accurately judging handballs and offsides, enhancing transparency and refereeing.

Manufactured by Huaian Butyl Ltd, a sports equipment company in Huaian, Jiangsu province, the smart soccer balls were also used at the recent UEFA European Championship.

Zhou Hongda, general manager of Huaian Butyl, said since the beginning of this year, the company had exported more than 4 million smart soccer balls for use in events like Euro 2024 and the Paris Games, as well as for training purposes. The company has export orders until the end of this year, Zhou added.

Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "As AI technology continues to evolve, the Paris 2024 Olympics serve as a testament to its potential to revolutionize sports. The integration of AI in various aspects of sports demonstrates its capability to enhance the athletic experience, both for participants and viewers."

"The application of China's state-of-the-art digital tech at the Paris Games has showcased Chinese companies' leading position in tech frontiers and their strengths in technological innovation," Wang added.

Accountancy firm PwC also believes that AI technologies are evolving fast and growing in importance, as well as boosting the management and operations of sports institutions.

"AI has the potential to inject new vitality into the entire chain of sports training and participation, from improving fans' viewing experience of sporting events and boosting training efficiency for athletes, to being virtual umpires and assistant coaches," PwC said in a report.