Ferrari's Formula 1 team -- and the results of seven-time world champion driver Michael Schumacher -- are heavily influenced by technology. This includes software designed in-house and hardware with standard components such as the Opteron processor from team sponsor Advanced Micro Devices.
A good deal of the high-performance work takes place off the asphalt in the "box," the garage where cars get their tires changed during a race. That's where the computers collect the telemetry data on how the car is meeting the demands of the course.
Dieter Gundel, head of racetrack electronics at Ferrari, sat down with ZDNet Germany to explain how the high-profile team gets an edge at the track.
How much standard software do you use? In comparison, how much of the software that you use is developed in-house?
Depends which applications you are referring to. Office products are standard Microsoft. Design and calculation tools (CAD and CAM) are standard workstation products. All car-control and most of the data-analysis applications are written in-house, as are specific database products. It is not easy to give specific numbers because different groups use different tools.
What hardware do you use?
PCs for the majority of work. Workstations for design and component simulations.
What system software do you use?
PCs use Microsoft (Windows) XP company-wide.
What development software do you use?
Again, it depends. Control software for the car is C and assembler. Analysis and simulation is mainly done with Matlab. Other projects are written in object-oriented languages (C++, Delphi and Visual Basic, depending on preference).
During a race, how many gigabytes of data flow between the car and the "box"?
Roughly 1GB for an average race that lasts about one and a half hours, and obviously more data for longer races. These are partially redundant data because we use alternative telemetry channels and internal memory to make sure we don't lose data.
How does the communication between the race car and the box work?
As the question implies, there is only communication from the car to the garage allowed. The onboard control unit, in addition to performing a controlling role, samples all relevant signals (sensors, actuators and internal status variables) and hands them over to a dedicated logging controller. This unit both stores data in memory and prepares data for telemetry transmission.
Good software enables a good driver to gain a final edge of performance that is necessary to outperform the competition.
What data protocols are employed?
The applied protocols are a combination of standard error-correction protocols and encryption, suitable for the type of error rate on a wireless link. They are specifically optimised for our type of communication.
Can a Ferrari system "crash"?
Yes, temporarily at least. As the function of the car fully depends on software, this software can go wrong. A crash will be only temporarily because as usual in embedded software, there are plenty of watchdogs in the control software that will reboot the controller after a short period of inactivity. Therefore the question should be: Can a Ferrari have a short software hiccup? And the answer is yes. But as all software is extremely well tested in the lab, at test benches and during tests before taking it to the race, don't expect to see this at a race weekend.
How big a role does IT play in Schumacher's clear advantage?
This depends on whom you talk to. For someone like me who works with control software and data analysis, I would say that software functionality has a big supporting role for Schumacher. Good software enables a good driver to gain a final edge of performance that is necessary to outperform the competition. However, it is important to note that it is not just Michael Schumacher who plays a role in a Ferrari win. All of our drivers -- Michael's teammate Rubens Barrichello and our test driver, Luca Badoer -- contribute to our present advantage.
It's good that IT performs a great role on Ferrari's Team... the only thing I I dislike is that they're using a MS based OS... I thought they were using Mac's or Sun systems...
Well... nobody is perfect! :)