Tech Pumps the Adrenalin

Witnessing a live Formula One event is nothing like cricket. The energy and
exhilaration of the sport on one side, the passionate fan-following on the
other, and a common string of technology cutting through it. Motor Sports is a
world of its own, where inhuman speed is the basic credential, and making the
speed seem sensible to humans is the biggest challenge and essence of the sport.
A black and gold coloured entry tag hung around my neck for the next 48
hoursserial no 817, a barcode with a code CF: 100144936, with entry to the
Corporate Suite CS2. At least 75,000 motor sports enthusiasts throng the Sepang
International Circuit, a stones throw away from the Kuala Lumpur International
Airport. Here the only human interference is a uniformed gentleman holding up a
slick rain-proof barcode reader which records the ticket holders entry
andlocks his/her designated pavilion/stand area. He then ensures that there is
no duplication of the serial number and there is an accurate record of the
number of ticket holders in each seating areafor reference purposes and for
easy evacuation in the case of an emergency. One simple technology, with more
than a handful of benefits.

A New Experience

One thing by which every racing enthusiast in his first race will be shaken
out of his nerves will be the decibel level of engine noise in the track. The
only way out is to stick rubber plugs into your ear. A giant multiplex-size
screen in front of every series of stands, with live camera feeds as the race
proceeds into areas that cannot be witnessed by the particular stand.There is
live update of temperature and humidity in the air and on the track (Malaysia on
race day was scorching at around 32 degrees with a humidity percentage of more
than 80%. The track temperature is invariably 5-7 degrees higher). Organizers
say that it takes a team of more than twenty with simultaneous feeds from an
equal number of hi-tech cameras inclusive of one mounted on a helicopter
circling the circuit, just for television coverage of the proceedings. This is
besides the ones installed on the racing vehicles that use wireless bandwidth to
connect to the central AV studio. All this is powered by an exclusive data
center featuring the most agile of blades.

The real technology can be seen inside the cockpit of the car, where need for messages to be received clearly becomes all the more critical

According to Formula One rules, throughout the Grand Prix weekends, all cars
must be fitted with two cameras or camera housings. The cameras are used to
provide on-board TV footage. The cars have a total of six camera mounting
points. One camera housing is always mounted on top of the air box immediately
behind the drivers head. The position of the second housing is chosen by the F1
association in consultation with the relevant team and driver.

Technology, the Enabler

The real technology however can be seen inside the cockpit of the car.
Effective communication is important in any working environmentbe it your
workplace or a racing track. What is different in a racing track is that the
environment itself moves at an average speed of 300km/h, between buildings,
trees, and landscape, fuelled and accompanied by a deafening scream of a racing
vehicle. Where need for messages to be received clearly becomes all the more
critical. The message could be from the driver to the car, the car to the driver
or the pit stop experts to the driver. In a classic example of messages having
gone wrong on an F1 track, Ayrton Senna at the 1984 British GP was stunned when
he heard bizarre messages in his earpiece. They were eventually traced to a
catering firm working in the vicinity in the race. Things have changed since
then. Today, McLaren Mercedes applies in advance for twenty-four independent
channels for every racetaking care of everything from car-to-pit radios, a
real-time weather radar system and separate channels for the marketing and
catering teams. Since regulations demand that airwaves must be shared by the
other teams, as well as local businesses, only narrow bandwidths are allocated.
The McLaren Mercedes car-to-pit radio has been developed in association with
Kenwood and runs off the cars power system. It is positioned under the knees of
the driver, who pushes a button on the steering wheel when he wants to transmit.
The signal is transmitted via the antenna on the cars nose to a mast mounted
either at the back of the pit facility or on one of the teams race
transporters. The car sends a VHF FM signal, but a repeater system, effectively
another transmitter attached to the pit receiver, converts it to a UHF FM
signal.

It takes a team of more then 20 different vantage angles with simultaneous feeds from an equal number of hi-tech cameras inclusive of one mounted on a helicopter circling the circuit; all just for television coverage of the proceedings

Closer to home, Force India F1 has deployed a permanent IT backbone with
companies that specialize in building infrastructure for the military. The
reason being that race tracks are equally challenging considering the heat,
humidity, dust and the sand. Circuit boards and cases should be designed in such
a way that they can cope with much higher ambient temperatures. The ones in the
Force India garage are also coated internally so that they can withstand the
carbon dust that is present in an F1 garage. Carbon, being very electrically
conductive, tends to damage electrical equipment. Force India has also deployed
a UPS system in an air conditioned environment. A UK-based firm, UPS Direct, has
designed this using a 19-inch, rack-mounted unit that contains a UPS in an
air-conditioned, sealed environment.

Voice communications solution for the team is provided by STL and Samsung.
While STL does all the maintenance and implementation, and Samsung provides the
actual equipment. At the race track, Force India used to book separate lines for
each event, comprising ISDN lines for all data transfers and five to six lines
for voice communications. Now, Force India runs on a VPN. Suddenly, instead of
issuing numbers that differ at every race, its the same number off the main
factory switchboard. The call is routed through the VPN over the Internet, with
the phone system in the Silverstone headquarters managing the calls. This means
the race could be in Bahrain but the cost of the call is only from the telephone
exchange in Silverstone to the final destination.

Formula One spells energy, a rush of adrenalin and a powerful surge of
emotionsof winning or losing, and of competitionall of it made easier for
human consumption, thanks to technology.

Vishnu Anand

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in