Panasonic aids Olympic athlete’s simulation training
Olympic javelin champion Thomas Röhler is making use of a Panasonic laser projector, cameras and 4K OLED TV, as he aims to pick up a second Olympic medal at this year’s games in Japan.
Panasonic AV technology is helping German javelin thrower Thomas Röhler prepare for this year’s Olympic Games in Japan, as the combined 2016 Olympic champion and 2018 European champion works towards his second Olympic Gold.
Panasonic’s PT-MZ16KL laser projector is simulating the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to train visual orientation in a situation that is as close to a competition as possible. Röhler also uses Panasonic cameras and a 4K Panasonic TV for his technically demanding training and movement analysis.
Röhler has already undertaken several months of dedicated training to perfect his aim for throwing his javelin – and still has many weeks and numerous competitions ahead of him.
“From October to April we throw balls against a tarpaulin in the hall. That’s a good amount of around 500 balls per training week. I’m aiming for a crosshair that we have drawn on. My trainer Harro Schwuchow came up with the idea of simply projecting images of the competition venues onto this tarpaulin in order to better train visual orientation,” said Röhler, who has developed many innovative training methods with his trainer.
The apparently simple idea was not that easy to implement. “The requirements for the technology are very special. We train in daylight and throw balls weighing between 300 grams and two kilograms against a tarpaulin at great speed and pressure. However, the picture has to be clearly visible so that we can optically orient ourselves,” said Röhler.
As the equipment in Halle has to be dismantled after each training session, a compact device was selected – but also a powerful one. Competition light is simulated with 16,000 lumens. The optics of the projector were chosen after a 3D simulation so that the projector can be installed optimally without disturbing the start-up. The lens shift of the projector is used to project the image in front of the approach path, although the projector is positioned offset to the side.
In large competitions like the Olympics Games, the competitors have very few “trial throws” on-site before the competition. The simulation with the beamer makes it possible to fade in the respective stadium and the athlete can adjust to the specific conditions he can expect at each site.
Throw analyses are conducted using two Panasonic cameras, the Lumix FZ 2000 and the AG-CX10 capturing 4K videos. The cameras allow high-resolution video capture, immediate sharing, replay, and zoom for the trainer to analyse the details of the movement on a 4K Panasonic OLED TV.
Panasonic has supported the values of the Olympic Movement and the transmission of live images to almost all countries in the world as an Official, Worldwide Partner in the field of audio and video equipment since the Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada in 1988. In 2006, Panasonic also became the first Official, Worldwide Partner of the Paralympic Games.
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Posted: 24th June 2021