As we close in on the Beijing Summer Olympics this Friday, it's worth noting the innovative technology that will be present at the Games.

EE Times has put together a cool slide show exhibiting innovations of note, such as the 440,000 LEDs of a giant Water Cube, driverless trains and the RFID technology embedded in tickets.

Panasonic says its giant Astrovision LCD scoreboards can be seen clearly in direct sunlight. Even the athletes' swimsuits are high-tech, EE Times reports.

According to the site, China will drop iodide pellets into the clouds to keep the rain away. Should we do that in New York?