- Title: Alibaba provides wearable device to prevent heatstroke at Olympics
- Date: 31st July 2021
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 31, 2021) (REUTERS) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF ALIBABA CLOUD JAPAN, SUSUMU NIITSUMA, PUTTING ON EAR-WORN DEVICE TO DETECT HIS BODY TEMPERATURE AND HEART RATE
- Embargoed: 14th August 2021 09:56
- Keywords: Alibaba Alibaba Cloud Olympics Tokyo 2020 heat heatstroke wearable device
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Olympics,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001EO67ARR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: While containing COVID-19 infections is a top priority for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the organisers have been combating another big problem since the Games started - the heat.
Temperatures have again soared to 32 degrees Celsius this week, putting the Tokyo Games in the running for one of the hottest Olympics on record, and it is not only the athletes that are at risk of getting heat strokes, but also thousands of staff working for the Games especially at outdoor venues.
Besides the conventional measures like water spray and mist fans, China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has come up with a new solution for the organisers - a cloud-based system to monitor the real-time physical condition of staff who are working at the venues.
Through a small, black ear-worn device, the onsite workers' heart rate and the body temperature will be measured and sent to the cloud. The system will evaluate the level of heatstroke risk based on the algorithm that combines individual data and environmental index at 14 competition venues.
Alerts will then be sent to those at high risk of getting a heatstroke through an app along with recommendations on what to do, such as taking a rest and drinking more water.
"The app presents alerts of 'warnings' and 'severe warnings' even when I haven't noticed (the heatstroke symptoms) myself. So when I saw it on my phone screen, I started to realise (the risks of getting heatstroke). I think it's useful in terms of heatstroke prevention," said 21-year-old Mikako Takahashi who works at the Olympic stadium every day, guiding Olympic participants.
As a global Olympic sponsor, Alibaba said they had been working with the Tokyo Olympics organising committee for years to launch this device to tackle the challenge of hot temperatures.
"I think the climate is changing so much and how to guarantee the outdoor sports events, that is also very important and a challenge for the organisers. So that's why Alibaba Cloud, as we have been the global partner for the Olympic Games, we started trying to use our Cloud computing technology to speed up all of the digitalisation. This is the typical case, because the human being is really very important so that's why we created this anti-heatstroke solution with our technologies, to protect the working staff," said Selina Yuan, the general manager for Alibaba Cloud's international business unit, adding that Alibaba was hoping to expand its Cloud service to future games as well as other sports events.
Last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics was in 1964, during the cooler month of October but this time, the heat together with humidity is taking a toll on the Games, making it more difficult for both athletes and workers at outdoor events.
(Production: Irene Wang, Sarah Aoyagi, Ilze Filks) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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