Intel will use multi-camera, 3D athlete tracking in the 2020 Olympics

Intel plans to bring 3D athlete tracking (3DAT) to the 2020 Olympics. Today, the company announced that its 3DAT system will use four cameras to film athletes in the 100-meter and other sprinting events. Algorithms will then analyze the biomechanics of the athletes' movements and broadcast those as visual overlays available during replays.

Intel has already made big promises for the 2020 Olympics. It previously announced that it's working on a 5G network for the games, and there's a good chance we'll see another drone-based light show. Today, Intel also shared that it's working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bring VR training to summer games staff. That system will create VR models of competition venues. And Intel's Core i5 processor chips will be used in a facial recognition system, "NeoFace," that will be used to identify over 300,000 people at the games -- including athletes, volunteers, media and staff.

Of course, Intel has used VR to enhance the viewing experience of past Olympic games, and it hasn't always gone well. The company has had time to work on the tech, but we'll have to wait until July 2020 to see if its 3DAT or VR training efforts make a noticeable difference.