Rio Olympics may go down in history as the IoT edition

Brazil has been going through a lot of turmoil lately but this hasn”t stopped officials from thoroughly preparing for the 2016 summer Olympics. In spite of controversy and the population”s mixed feelings following the country”s economic constraints, this edition has made an outstanding debut and it may be remembered as the IoT edition.

There”s been an explosion of connected devices meant to improve and automate daily activity, especially for the consumer market. Commonly, a myriad are in the wearables sector specifically targeting fitness lovers but also professional athletes: bracelets that measure performance, injuries, and recoveries, AR eyewear for cyclists to monitor their activity in real-time, and headphones for brain stimulation during workouts.

“This technology is especially vital with our women”s Olympic pursuit team in their Rio preparations and would be perfect for any road training program,” said Jim Miller, USA Cycling Vice President of Athletics.

All devices come with in-built analytics making it easier for athletes and their coaches to come up with personalized training plans based on their performance, heart rate, injuries, and recoveries.

The IoT devices at the Olympics are not all about sports. Visa introduced an NFC ring specifically for athletes to make easier and faster transactions throughout the competition. If stolen, the owner can deactivate it using a smartphone. As it holds no private data about the owner, there are no risks to jeopardize an individual”s identity.

Security is a top priority at the event, especially after recent robberies and deaths. Cybersecurity is just as important as venue and ground security. With a network infrastructure sponsored by Cisco that”s trying to connect over 30,000 participants with the outside world, the Olympics are not exempt from hacker attacks, malicious apps or Wi-Fi. Users are advised to connect to the official network and to avoid downloading suspicious apps which ask for personal information.