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'Telecommuting' In Formula 1
flewp writes "This New York Times article on Formula 1 racing gives some insight into the workings of one of the most high-tech sports on the planet — consider that a few years ago, Sauber's supercomputer ranked toward the top of all the supercomputers in Europe. The teams bring to each race dozens of mechanics, support personnel, etc.; but back at their home bases, perhaps thousands of miles away, countless more engineers work (with the help of gobs of computing power) to give each team that extra edge."
I initially read that as 'Teleporting in Formula 1'. And after realizing my err in judgement, I came to the conclusion that my original interpretation will still probably come true before we get flying cars (if they ever to arrive).
Even funnier is the bloke who misreads it as 'Teleconferencing in Formula 1', those would be some badass conference calls, ones I might actually look forward to. It might make some of the mush-mouths get to the point fairly quickly when they have 700+ hp under their testicles, and are responsible for not decimating them in a fiery collision! Now thats synergy!
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
I mean. It's almost as boring as US car races but at least the tracks aren't ovals. God, almost fell asleep just at the thought.
Excitement. Look at Touring cars, motorcycles; British Superbikes, now there are a bunch of complete nutters. The TT at the Isle of Man. Even MotoGP is better.
Formula 1? What ...a ... bunch ... of ... BORING ... pussies.
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A couple of weeks ago I was watching qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix on Speed Network, after which they showed the 24 hours of Le Mans, of which I watched about 10 hours worth. I was all excited and expecting the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday but no, it was some stupid NASCAR recap show (not a race) then some "Two Rednecks in a Garage" show. Pardon me for wanting to actually see racing and not that other crap. If you like racing, (not the kind that is a constant left turn), it's hard to find in the US. I really can't stand NASCAR - it's boring as hell except for the crashes. The rest of the world can have their "football" with their "nils" and whatnot. I just want some real road racing and rally racing, and no, monster truck rallies don't count either. /rant
I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
That's interesting, but I'll really be interested when they invent a motor sport where the cars are driven remotely. I'm thinking of kind of a virtual reality rig where the controls simulate being inside the car. No one would go for this in the present types of auto racing even if it were allowed, since they would have a disadvantage even if the technology advanced considerably: the driver would lack certain kinds of information from sound and touch, not to mention signal lag.
But imagine if there were a separate motor sport where everyone drives that way. Not only would the technology itself be cool, but think of how much more riskily they could drive without any danger to human life. It's my understanding that drivers are always trying to push the envelope that way anyway (and the rules have to be revised to push back in the direction of safety), so presumably it would expand the sport with different machinery and perhaps new techniques that would be too dangerous otherwise. And the crash-happy spectators would certainly like it, and might feel less like ghouls for enjoying the spectacular destruction of machinery without the uncomfortable reality that there's a human being in there. (Or is that the appeal? I don't know.)
Also, we need to build military vehicles that work the same way. On the ground, that is—Predator drones already kick ass.
"This algorithm runs in constant time. Come on, 2,147,483,648 is a constant..."
e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfPM77TsGaA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h04yfZ4xIY
The real head cases though race here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE7H6f9PVwk
Formula 1?
Might as well not bother.
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"back at their home bases, perhaps thousands of miles away, countless more engineers work (with the help of gobs of computing power) to give each team that extra edge."
Maybe they could use some of that computing power to count the engineers, if only for payroll purposes.