While the athletes go for gold in PyeongChang, we find ourselves interested in the technology and design work that made the Winter Olympics possible. Check out this week’s picks:

• Immerse yourself. Catching the Olympics on a flat screen? That’s so 2014. Strap on your goggles and check out the first live VR broadcasts.
• Meaningful gestures. From the star-and-pillar event logo to the cute mascots and altitude-inspired torches, Design Week has the rundown of design choices for this year’s event, while this podcast from Monocle surveys the best of Olympic design through history. Meanwhile, Bustle goes deep on this year’s medal design.

• The makers behind the magic. Check out how the U.S. luge team is getting an edge using 3D printing to customize their sleds, learn how plastic might one day replace ice in the bobsled track, and how snowboard half-pipes are carved.
• Skywriting redux. Did you see the record-setting 1,218 drones flying in formation to create Olympic-related images during the Opening Ceremonies? Wired explains how Intel’s Shooting Star platform powered the display.

Credit: Wired

• Hot ink. It’s so cold in PyeongChang, even the Canadians are complaining. So Ralph Lauren built heating systems directly into the jackets worn by American athletes. The best part? They use special silver-and-carbon ink printed on the inner lining to conduct the heat.
• Nothing to see here. The Hyundai Pavilion made its debut at the games. Covered in a new substance called Vantablack VBx2, which absorbs 99.96% of visible light, looking at it is like staring into the void
  
  Credit: Asif Khan