FIA to fit every car with GPS transmitter for 2010

[The FOZ]

Each of the thirteen Formula One teams have received a bill of almost €60,000 (US$83,000) to pay for the FIA's latest technology addition for this season.

Last year race stewards were criticised for making poor decisions about on-track actions by drivers. To help them, the FIA have told the teams that each car must be fitted with an ultra-sensitive GPS system that will be able to accurately track the cars position on the track to within one metre.

The data from the cars will be sent straight to the race director and will be used by the stewards to judge rule breaking. The technology is likely to be used in examining such infractions as cutting chicanes, ignoring flags, illegal overtaking, impeding rivals and touching pit exit white lines. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that the total cost of the new technology is €750,000 (over US$1 million).

Discuss.

I could see this having been useful, when paired with car telemetry, in the Trulli/Sutil crash last season. Where someone is, along with what they're doing at the time could be a useful tool in the right hands.

On the other hand, they're probably far less useful for stuff like pit exit line infractions and chicane cutting, since the resolution is "to within a meter"

[ISLAMATRON]

Dont they have camaras all over the track and on every car? They dont need this to do what they should already be able to do... but if it helps get rid of their incompetence I'm all for it.

[Tim.Wright]

Dont they have camaras all over the track and on every car? They dont need this to do what they should already be able to do... but if it helps get rid of their incompetence I'm all for it.

How have you seen cameras missing important event?? Not to mention you can't use camera data to automatically give info about driver cutting corners etc. Has nothing to do with covering up incompetence.

I think its a good idea, well overdue though. The cost shouldn't be a big issue since Im sure they all use GPS and therefore spend money on it already, now they just switch suppliers.

It will need to be more accurate than 1m to be useful for detecting crossed pitlane lines etc. The drivers usually cut them very close, well less than a meter.

I think connecting it with the mashelling system would be a good step forward for safety.

Tim

[axle]

They always HAD GPS systems.

They have upgraded them to far more sensitive systems.

I am wondering if this means they have a sensor now at each extremity.

[Fil]

I think connecting it with the mashelling system would be a good step forward for safety.

This was introduced in 2009. They now receive steering wheel info where there are yellow flags.. and have a delta time to keep under within that area.

Altho Rosberg found a loophole in the system in Suzuka..



This whole story seems a little bit of a non-event. Technology has been upgraded. ooh wow...

[Jersey Tom]

I'm kinda surprised. I'd suspect most teams would have already had better GPS already on their cars.

[The FOZ]

I'm kinda surprised. I'd suspect most teams would have already had better GPS already on their cars.

It was my understanding that the accuracy of GPS is limited for civilian use to the 1m mark or something like that.

There are better things out there, I'm sure, but GPS is just that - global - and doesn't require antennae to be placed all around a track prior to a race.

[Jersey Tom]

You don't need to use satellites to use the concept of 'GPS'...

[Dubliner]

They could have made this GPS system FAR more accurate (perhaps to a few inches or less) if they just borrowed technology from the aviation sector. Specifically, a ground based augmentation system. Then, the GPS systems would not only triangulate their position from three geosyncrhonous, but an individual tower on the ground at every race track. Just the simple act of correlating data from the three satelites along with a fixed point on the ground with known coordinates would result in almost exact positions.

I wonder why they haven't looked to that? They wouldn've have had to fit new highly sensitive modules in the cars, they could have worked with the current systems. Though, it would mean the burden of these costs would be transferred from the individual teams to each race track. But, then again, in the past, Bernie Eccelstone hasn't exactly shied away from forcing tracks to spend large amounts of money to modernize and fit new regulations and standards.

[Dubliner]

Though, now that I think about my post, that would be a massive inconvenience going around Monaco or Singapore.