Strict rules in MotoGP means teams need to come up with innovative ways to get an upper hand. This is Aprilia’s latest
MotoGP mechanics, like the riders, have limited time to produce the best set-up on which their rider can go out and achieved the best result on any given race weekend. Sure, they’ve had to burn the midnight oil on a Saturday night to come up with the goods on race day, but during the tight confines of a 15-minute qualifying session, or the all-important 45-minute FP3 session, if their rider is having an issue, then the pressure’s on to perform fast prognoses and make slick changes to get them back out and on the track in the shortest possible time.
When the Grand Prix Commission introduced a rule that the four mechanics allowed in pitlane during a flag-to-flag race were required to wear helmets, many teams produced lightweight bicycle-type affairs to satisfy the bare minimum requirements of the new rule. Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, however, looked at the situation and saw an opportunity to give its mechanics both in pitlane and the garage an advantage in the time it takes to perform initial prognoses.
It commissioned a mob called Realmore to develop software specific to the firm’s RS-GP MotoGP machine compatible with the innovative DAQRI smart helmet. The helmet, currently used in a wide variety of industries all over the world, uses augmented reality to both assess and provide real-time information and data about the machine in front of it. All the while the information is being beamed directly into the mechanics’ line of sight without them having to check a single sight glass or pick up a clipboard. Here’s how it works.
ASSESS
The DAQRI smart helmet is festooned with cutting edge tech such as the latest Intel core processors, mega high-speed wide-angle cameras, a swathe of infrared and thermal sensors as well as a projector and display required to work in both bright sunshine and dark garages, The helmet has the ability to assess, monitor and report to the wearer, in real time, data such as temperatures and fluid levels, and alert the team to any anomalies to preset parameters. Augmented reality means the whole thing can be overlaid into a Head Up hologram displayed in real time.
COMMUNICATE
On top of this, team members can all communicate important strategic information with one another remotely and confidentially.
So in the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix, for instance, Aleix Espargaro’s crew chief Marcus Eschenbacher will be able to notify the appropriate mechanic of which tyre compounds the Spaniard is considering racing with, for example, or exactly how much fuel is required in the RS-GP’s tank while the mechanic’s busy doing something else, and all without having to utter a single word.
INSTRUCT
As well as significant time saving benefits, the DAQRI smart helmet is also reducing the chances of human error, easy to make in high-pressure situations during MotoGP race weekends. Besides assessing and reporting the current condition of the motorcycle, it can provide concise step-by-step instructions on exactly how to perform a task. For example the bike’s wiring may have up to 20 pins in a single connector all relating to different functions of the bike. The wearer can have an annotated image of exactly which hole does what, simply by looking at it.
Kellie Buckley