The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are using Omega’s network of AI-powered cameras, sensors, and drones to track moves with a higher level of precision than previously possible.

“Photo Finish” Technology

The official timekeeper since 1932, Omega also made headway in 2018 with its advanced motion sensors and positioning system, primarily in ski jumping. At this year’s games, Omega has deployed the Electronic Starting Pistol and the “Scan’O’Vision ULTIMATE,” a camera capable of shooting 40,000 frames per second. This becomes crucial in events like speed skating, allowing for “photo finishes” where every fraction of a millimeter can be captured.

AI models are also processing live performance data using an AI system known as Computer Vision. The data is used to reveal insightful information and generate graphics in real time, providing the audience with the athlete’s positioning and speed. This also helps commentators with quickness and accuracy when it comes to where mistakes occurred or why one skater finished faster.

In figure skating, for example, a ring of 14 8K-resolution cameras tracks every rotation and landing. The camera data is fed into an AI system that builds a 3D model of the athlete, allowing the system to measure stats like jump height, airtime, and angle of the blade.

The camera, essentially, creates a heat map of where the skaters are concentrating their moves. This tool allowed judges to verify if a rotation was actually completed.

“We’re down to millimeters in the detection of the blade,” said Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega’s timing unit. AI can detect movements that “couldn’t be seen with the naked eye,” he added.

Omega is reportedly providing timing for all 116 events across 16 sports, including ski mountaineering for the first time, and has deployed advanced technologies that extend its role beyond timing to capture the full picture of performance.