The tiny robot cars at the Paris Olympics track and field events, explained

If you’ve been watching track and field events during the 2024 Paris Olympics, something a bit strange may have caught your attention.

In the background, you may have spotted a few tiny, remote-controlled cars zooming around. It’s cool, I know, but what’s the purpose? As it turns out, it’s pretty straightforward.

The cars, known officially as Field Support Robots, are used for object retrieval, particularly in events that require throwing projectiles (discus, javelin, shot put, etc.). And their presence at the Olympics is nothing new.

Prior Games have used the same technology, albeit with different aesthetics. At the London Olympics in 2012, they were Mini Coopers. At the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, they were green pickup trucks, and in Tokyo in 2021, they were futuristic, bus-type vehicles.

This year’s model appears to be based on the Toyota BZ4X SUV.

They are using bZ4X RC cars for the Olympics field events https://t.co/cjEMzj1Txs

— Paulo Acoba (@ferio_252) August 2, 2024

As you can see in the photo above, the car is being used to transport a javelin back to the throwing location. Talk about an innovative solution to a simple problem!