The Mercedes AMG Petronas automotive group is the first team to test a wireless data transfer system made by the American manufacturer
Of all sports, the one in which technology plays an important role, particularly in recent years, is definitely Formula 1. Gone are the days when a team’s victory depended primarily on the skill of its drivers.
Nowadays it’s all about buttons and sensors. Formula 1 is a sport where speed is important not only on the track, but also in command. In fact, it all depends on the right strategy, as we saw during the first grand prix of 2017. For car manufacturers, it implies the ability to analyze the data collected by the cars in the fastest way possible to anticipate the moves of the opponents. Especially during free practice. In order to process the information recorded by the cars, most racing teams need to recall the single-seaters to the pits and connect their on-board computer with the central one. A slow process, but necessary to get the best time.
Qualcomm’s wireless chip
A new technology soon could speed up the process of analyzing this data. In fact, it’s already doing so. The first to adopt it were in fact the men of Mercedes, current title holders and main opponents to beat. It is a wireless system that allows to transfer all the information collected by the single-seaters during the race, and the various sessions, to the central computer. The chip, made by the American company Qualcomm, can be used to download data more quickly and without necessarily resorting to the cable. In a sport, where victory is often determined by a fraction of a second, this technology represents an important innovation.
How does Qualcomm’s technology work
How does Qualcomm’s wireless chip work on Mercedes cars? The technology consists of a sensor that supports the 802.11ad standard and uses the fast 60Ghz spect. Thanks to the system of the American company, famous for the realization of chips for smartphones, the teams will be able to download the data collected from the cars as soon as they approach the garages and in a few seconds. A significant novelty, at the moment used only by the German car manufacturer, but that soon will revolutionize the whole Formula 1.
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