Archery, Cycling, and Pole Vault... Tech Battles Beyond Medals [Tech Talk]

Technological Innovations Behind the Olympics
Hyundai Assists Archery with Robots
Technology in Bicycles and Pole Vaulting Too

The Olympics is an event full of the sporting spirit where athletes clash their physical strength and skills, but behind the scenes, there is fierce competition in technology among countries and corporations. The training and equipment procurement in modern elite sports are arenas of technological competition where cutting-edge science and technology are fully utilized, and the Olympics are no exception to this trend.

The Secret of Korean Archery, Thanks to the 'Robot' Developed by Hyundai Motor

Training Robots for Korean Archery Athletes
[Image Source=Hyundai Motor Group]

Archery, where our country swept up gold medals, is a representative case of 'scientific training.' It is already well known that the Korea Archery Association is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Group, the largest automobile manufacturer in Korea. Chung Euisun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, has taken over the presidency of the Archery Association following his predecessor and is said to be personally passionate about Korean archery and involved in the association's work.

The Archery Association is famous for being fair and transparent in the athlete selection process. Along with this, the unique training system utilizing Hyundai Motor's advanced technology also draws attention.

Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Korean archery athletes trained with a personal training shooting robot developed by Hyundai Motor. This robot applies technologies such as robotics and computer vision used in factory automation and is even capable of measuring subtle wind intensity to improve aiming points in real time, making it the 'strongest rival.' Thanks to this, Korean athletes have always been able to build their skills in the best training environment.

A Ultra-Precision Semiconductor Equipment Parts Company Also Made a 'Racing Bicycle'

Renishaw has compressed prototype manufacturing time from several months to just a few weeks using advanced metal 3D printer technology. [Image source=Renishaw homepage]

If archery is Korea's star sport, cycling is the equivalent for the United Kingdom. British cycling saw success at the 2012 London Olympics and continues to bring numerous medals to Team GB at every event.

The British cycling team is known not only for the excellent skills of individual athletes but also for their outstanding equipment. The bicycles used by cycling athletes are monsters that approach a top speed of 100 km/h. To maintain such speed on a bicycle powered by human effort rather than a machine, air resistance must be minimized.

To design and mass-produce such products, the British precision engineering company Renishaw stepped in. Renishaw is not very well known to the general public but is a key supplier of ultra-precision measuring instruments and 3D printer components. Renishaw supplies nanometer (nm) scale laser measuring devices to the famous Dutch company ASML, which manufactures EUV lithography equipment for semiconductor production.

Renishaw applied its precision engineering know-how and 3D printing technology to complete a racing bicycle made purely of titanium in just a few weeks. Developing a racing bicycle usually takes several months from design to prototype production and mass production, but thanks to Renishaw, the British team was able to shorten that period several times over. As a result, the British cycling team was able to obtain custom bicycles tailored to their needs.

The Hidden Technology in Pole Vaulting

Duplantis is vaulting in the men's pole vault final at the 2024 Paris Olympics held on the 6th (Korean time) at Stade de France in Paris, France.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Pole vaulting was originally an extremely dangerous sport. In fact, it was one of the sports with the most accidents in past Olympics.

Why was that? Because the poles used by athletes to support their bodies in the air frequently broke. In Olympic-level competitions, athletes soar about 6 meters high, and the pressure on the pole at that time is enormous. If the pole bends too much and breaks, athletes lose their balance instantly and fall, resulting in potentially fatal injuries.

Modern technology is what made pole vaulting a safe sport. A company called UST-ESSX located in Texas, USA, specializes in manufacturing and supplying poles to the Olympics. In 1998, businessman Bruce Caldwell founded ESSX to develop unbreakable poles, and later in 2016, UST acquired ESSX, forming the current corporate structure.

ESSX poles have been supplied to the world's top pole vaulting competitions, including the Olympics, since 2004. They are made not from metal but from composite fibers. Fiber poles are flexible yet highly durable, making them perfect for withstanding pressure.

However, composite fiber poles cannot yet be considered completely safe. If cracks develop in the fibers, they can break at any time. Therefore, before competitions, poles must be thoroughly inspected to detect defects or fiber flaws and discarded if necessary, which is a cumbersome process.

Today, special pole manufacturers including ESSX are dedicated to researching 'self-healing' fibers for poles. For example, materials that automatically release ultra-fine capsules to repair cracks when they occur, or fibers that seal cracks within 10 minutes when heated. Once these technologies are commercialized, the risk of accidents caused by pole breakage will disappear forever.