In recent years, with the advancement of photography technology, there have been many cases of athletes, especially female athletes, encountering clandestine photography and privacy violations during competitions. To solve this problem, Japanese sports brand Mizuno has partnered with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Kyodo Printing to develop a special cloth that blocks infrared photography. The innovative material, which will make its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, offers better privacy for athletes from Japanese women's volleyball, track and field, and table tennis teams.
Mizuno Co., Ltd. has developed anti-infrared transparent cloth to prevent athletes from peeping
Traditional photography equipment is already a threat to athletes' privacy, and the advent of infrared photography technology has made it even worse. This technique is able to show the contours of an athlete's underwear and even the curves of the body through thin sportswear. These peep-savvy photos are often uploaded to pornographic websites, causing serious online harassment problems.
Kazuya Tajima, a member of Mizuno's development team, said, "As photographic equipment becomes more advanced, photos taken with infrared can show underwear and body contours through swimsuits and shorts. It was with this concern that Mizuno decided to develop this special fabric.
At the heart of this new fabric is its unique light-absorbing material. It is able to effectively absorb light in the infrared range, which in turn prevents the infrared camera from capturing the details of the athlete's body. The results of experiments presented by Mizuno showed that when taken with an infrared camera, the silhouette of the human body wearing this cloth was almost completely shielded.
It is worth noting that this fabric not only has the properties of anti-infrared rays, but also retains the elasticity and comfort required for sportswear. Meiyi Kodama , a 25-year-old athlete who competed in the 400m relay at Tokyo 2021, said it was "more comfortable to wear than I thought" when testing the new material.
Mizuno's newly developed cloth is more effective in hindering infrared photography. Image source: Mizuno
Many athletes welcomed the presentation of this new material. Reiko Shiota, who represented Japan in badminton at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and London 2012, has been plagued by the widespread distribution of her private photos. "I always tried to ignore the camera shutter sounds aimed at my chest or hips, but it really affected my performance," she recalls. ”
Airi Hatakeyama, a rhythmic gymnast who represented Japan at London 2012 and Rio 2016, said she was "shocked to find that some people sexualized her with suggestive photos" when she was a minor. Since 2004, the Gymnastics Federation has banned photography during competitions and mobilized staff to detect any irregularities.
This new material was developed to prevent female athletes from being photographed in sports venues. This infrared-absorbing cloth is similar to how stealth planes avoid detection by detectors by reflecting radar signals. It absorbs infrared light and prevents it from reaching the camera and infrared sensor.
Some devices have unexpectedly demonstrated how infrared sensing technology can reveal hidden things, such as the OnePlus 8 Pro's "Photochrom" filter, which can penetrate like an X-ray. When this technique is applied to a person, infrared photography can reveal the contours of a person's body or the underwear worn under thin clothing, which is exactly what athletes wear.
In 2020, athletes complained to the Japanese Olympic Committee after discovering that their infrared photos were being shared on social media with sexually suggestive captions. Since then, Mizuno, Sumitomo Metal Mine, and Kyodo Printing have worked together to develop this new type of cloth that is elastic enough to be used in sportswear while protecting athletes.
In the experiments shared by Mizuno, a layer of "race clothing fabric" and a new type of infrared-absorbing fabric almost completely obscured the black "C" printed on the bottom layer. The new multi-layered light-absorbing fabric would provide better protection, but given that athletes are already concerned about the extreme heat expected for the upcoming Paris Olympics, these garments need to strike a balance between protecting athletes from prying eyes and keeping them cool and comfortable.
In recent years, there have been many cases of victimization of female athletes who have been filmed for sexual purposes and spread on the Internet, including at sports venues. In response, Mizuno, a manufacturer of sports equipment, announced that it has produced fabrics with infrared absorbing properties. In addition, it is reported that at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, some athletes will wear competition clothing made of this fabric.
Sports groups and tournament organisers have been looking to prevent incidents of victimization of clandestine filming and have called for and restricted filming in the competition venues. However, due to the high functionality of photographic equipment, it is difficult to completely control the act of filming in the arena and eradicate the victimization of candid photography.
In recent years, cameras that use infrared technology, such as night vision and thermal imagers, have also been used to secretly photograph the underwear or body inside the uniforms worn by athletes, an act that has caused great distress to athletes.
To this end, the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) has set up a messaging form for people to report sexual social media posts and website content that cause harm to athletes. In fact, during the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, the number of confirmed messages provided increased dramatically.
Mizuno hopes that the use of this new fabric by top athletes at the Paris Olympics will raise awareness of clandestine photography and send the message that clandestine photography is unacceptable.
However, experts also point out that while this fabric can protect the privacy of athletes to a certain extent, it will take many efforts to completely solve the problem. In addition to technical means, there is a need to strengthen legal regulation, raise public awareness, and change certain undesirable social practices.
Overall, Mizuno's development of this anti-infrared candid fabric represents an important step forward in the world of sports in protecting the privacy of athletes. Not only does it provide better protection for athletes, but it also helps them focus more during the game without outside distractions. We look forward to adding this innovative technology to practical use at the upcoming Paris Olympics and hope that it will be an opportunity to push the entire sports community to pay more attention to athlete privacy."