Qualcomm has provided the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team with a high-speed wireless system, to enable the downloading of racecar telemetry data from its cars during practice sessions.
Using a WiFi 5GHz spectrum system provided by Qualcomm, Mercedes improved data offloads, including information from its thermal-imaging tire cameras.
The rapid data transfer of large vehicle diagnostics files avoids more frequent trips to the garages for offloading information using wired communications devices.
The systems needed a plug-in connection from the car to computers in the garages. Data now gets transferred through high-speed wireless in the pitlane.
The new system is the first of several projects between Qualcomm Technologies and the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.
It features various Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 processors with the company’s VIVE 802.11ac WiFi. It also has several access points, including one in pit lane, one in the garage, both enhancing the speed of connectivity and data transfer.
Qualcomm is planning to advance this technology to the end of 2015 and throughout the 2016 F1 season, with possible system architecture changes and a planned migration to 802.11ad WiFi over a 60GHz spectrum.
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Qualcomm president Derek Aberle said: "Through this project, we have learned new ways to use Wi-Fi in the automotive environment.
"Innovation in motorsport often drives the advancements seen in the consumer auto industry, and we believe this technology, as well as other advanced wireless technologies, has the potential to shape future developments in Dedicated Short Range Communications, Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure communications."
