Laser scanning in Formula 1 – who knew?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

With the introduction of two new tracks this Formula 1 season (Valencia; August 24, and Singapore; September 28), comes new advanced research to ensure design teams have the best and most up-to-date information to hand prior to the race. In an article published in The Times (15th March), Tom Clarkson explains the detailed surface characteristion process to be completed before teams hit the two new tracks this Summer. As teams have yet to experience the tracks, their technicians will shortly be laser scanning the road’s surface detailing its width and profile to help select tyres and fine-tune car set-up. A laser scanning and GPS system will be mounted on a truck that collects a data “cloud” of around 80 million points; used to create a drive simulation programme and virtual map. In one of the most expensive sports, it is not surprising that teams are turning to even more sophisticated technologies to gain that competitive edge. With the World Cycling Championships in April, will National Cycling teams turn to laser scanning in the future?

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Formula 1 & Motorsports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.