For years the engineers have argued that the drivers are the weak link in having their machines reach their true potential plus the packaging problems of having to fit a living, breathing driver into the chassis - alive.
I am certain Jay Novak could put together a truly revolutionary design if he didn't have to allow room for the likes of Brian and Don Hamilton! :) :) :) Chuck McAbee SEDIV #16 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeff Blumenthal Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 3:39 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [F500] The leaves me speechless... From the London Times 7/14/06 FORMULA ONE teams tired of paying up to £20 million a year for star drivers could soon be offered a cheaper alternative that never has tantrums or demands a wage rise: the car that drives itself. Volkswagen has been demonstrating a racing car that needs no driver, navigating its own way by means of laser scanners and military-specification global positioning systems. It doesn't crash, doesn't get tired and completes every lap at the same ultimate speed for hour after hour. And it doesn't shout at the mechanics, get lazy or bored or demand the use of a private plane to get to the circuit. In the cynical motor racing world where critics often accuse the engineers of doing all the hard work on behalf of the driver, Volkswagen really has cut out the middle man. The German company races through its Audi brand, this year extending a string of wins at the Le Mans 24-hour race. But where each car at the legendary French circuit needed three drivers to complete the day-night event - risking life and limb as they tired through lack of sleep - the driver-less car would have set off at the start and arrived at the chequered flag exactly as predicted by the engineers who set up its computer brain. Allan McNish, one of Audi's successful Le Mans team and former Toyota driver in Formula One, said: "It's all a bit worrying. I've got to be honest and tell you that I'm going to be having a wee word with some of the Volkswagen bosses about this." Volkswagen says the ultimate car is two years away but the Volkswagen Golf Gti adapted as a test bed, pounding around a secret test circuit at up to 160mph, was using technology that could be put into any racing car, including the 22 machines contesting the Formula One World Championship, whether it was Michael Schumacher's Ferrari or the Renault of Fernando Alonso. The cockpit was an eerie place to be, with an exclusive group of passengers chosen to witness the new technology simply strapped in and instructed not to touch anything. As the car screeched around the test track, the throttle and brake pedals popped up and down as though propelled by ghostly feet; outside the car functioned just as a racing car would, with screaming tyres and bumping over kerbs, completing lap after perfect lap. A Volkswagen spokesman said: "Once we have modified and perfected the system, it could be fitted to any vehicle, whether it's the slowest or the fastest car in the world. "In theory at least, if a car is capable of, say, 500mph but a driver isn't committed or talented enough to handle such a machine at such a speed, our new technology could. And, subject to the laws of physics and technical failures, it cannot come off the road." The only downfall of the experimental system is that it is not programmed to deal with the unexpected - such as the priest who wandered on to the Silverstone track at the British Grand Prix in 2003. Drivers can make snap decisions in those perilous moments and also adjust their lines on the track to avoid oil spills or compensate for track changes. The bonuses, according to Dr Markus Lienkamp, the project leader, are that drivers do not need to be paid and the driver-less car never crashes. "We can avoid the costly and damaging mistakes that costly drivers inevitably make," he said. "We'll leave it to your imagination to determine what this could mean for the future of motor sport." _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! *** ----------------------------------------- This email transmission and any accompanying attachments may contain CSX privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the intended addressee. Any dissemination, distribution, copying or action taken in reliance on the contents of this email by anyone other than the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please immediately delete it and notify sender at the above CSX email address. Sender and CSX accept no liability for any damage caused directly or indirectly by receipt of this email. _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
