Panasonic is playing its part in the colossal task of organising the London 2012 Olympics by supplying the Games’ technology HQ with High Definition Visual Communication AV Equipment (HDVC). Provided by the Panasonic System Communications Company Europe, the solution is being used by Technology Team from the London Organsising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to facilitate communication. With 36 competition venues needed for the estimated 14,700 athletes, 21,000 media/broadcasters, and 10.8million ticket-holders, multiple on-going projects and sites require input and collaboration from members of LOCOG. The equipment allows staff to stay connected with colleagues in different functional areas and office locations, which is critical to the complicity of projects and smooth running of the extensive organisational task. Staff members are able to hold meetings across remote locations, with enhanced communication at their figure tips for co-ordinated planning and critical communication.
Successful implementation of similar HDVC equipment at the Vancover 2010 Winter Games was behind the decision to use the solution for the London 2012 Olympics.
John Furlong, chief executive officer of Vancouver 2010 gave his comments: “I think for the purpose of interaction over very long distances this is a very big improvement on what we’ve been used to. I think quite often why people have not chosen to use this technology is because it has never been all that effective and crisp and clear.”. Junji Sato, HDVC engineer at Panasonic System Networks explained the same system used in Vancouver also had potential for use in wider applications such as education: “We hope that the advantages of the HD Video Conference System such as the high resolution images and clear audio will be used to conduct remote lectures to bring together classrooms that are located far away from one another. In the office environment, we hope that it may be used to keep the business hubs connected at all times, so that anyone can use it anytime they want”.
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