ToughBooks have been deployed at the track side to record the
Panasonic Toyota Racing team’s performance at practice sessions. Tough
enough to endure the fast pace and harsh conditions of the world’s
most gruelling motor racing challenges, the solution has provided
vital support to both drivers and engineers in preparation for race
days.
Until recently, Toyota was using standard specification, non-ruggedised
notebooks between the pit wall and garage to monitor car lap times and
record all lap information during testing. However, with no extra
protection built in, the equipment was prone to damage from rough
handling, shock and bad weather conditions. To ensure the accuracy of
data provided by the notebooks, the engineers were restricted to
working in sheltered positions where the machines were protected from
the prevailing weather and harsh conditions of the track side. With
the backing and support of the Panasonic UK ToughBook team, the
Panasonic Toyota Racing engineers were supplied with a total solution
that provided a tougher, more reliable and enduring trackside
companion A time-tested solution At the end of May 2002, Panasonic’s
Technical Account Manager, Russ Pickard, met with the Toyota team at
Silverstone to introduce ToughBook technology to their armoury. As
sponsors of the Panasonic Toyota Racing team, Panasonic made an
obvious choice for the provision of track-side technology, but even
so, it was ToughBook’s unique features that sold the solution to the
team. One of the most compelling features was the use of separate,
handheld units. These were not only completely rain proof, but offered
the user a greater range of mobility. The fact that the tablets
operated as far as 90 metres away from the CPU unit meant that they
could be used virtually anywhere between the pit wall and the garage,
unaffected by rain and water spray. As a result, the versatile CF-07
Wireless LAN products were deployed for time-testing, while engineers
working around the cars were equipped with the latest CF-M34 units for
general pit use at practice sessions. Built to endure the harshest
conditions while achieving the highest levels of performance, the
ruggedised CF-07 and Mobile Data Wireless display has proved over the
last few months that it can take anything the weather or track can
throw at it. By deploying the Panasonic ToughBook PC solution for
use at practice sessions, the Panasonic Toyota Racing Formula One Team
has acquired a piece of advanced technology that has proved
hard-wearing enough to be part of any race engineers tool kit.
How Toughbook helps out in the pit
The CF-07 Mini PC is docked in it’s multifunction port replicator in
the pit garage area and connected into the team’s back-end server
infrastructure via a CAT5 network cable. The wireless display is then
used by race engineers as a hand-held tablet to ‘remotely control’
from the optimal position and input crucial time data into the
database. At the car side, the M34 provides a small-footprint,
ruggedised sub-notebook solution that allows engineers extra
flexibility while making checks. All relevant pit information gathered
is displayed in 3D graph-based diagrams for easy analysis. The Pentium
III 700mhz processor and graphics card capability makes the M34 a very
fast device, and, being proofed against water, oil and other
chemicals, extremely well-suited to the environment. In addition,
the machines feature a touch-sensitive screen that enables users to
load applications from the desktop quickly and accurately, even
wearing protective gloves. Panasonic’s high-level support
“Meeting the team in their own environment proved very beneficial to
our development of the project. We could see a need to extend the
range of the hand-held devices further than the pit walls and added to
the kit to achieve a new level of performance.” Russ Pickard,
Technical Account Manager, Panasonic UK The Panasonic UK team has
worked closely with the Panasonic Toyota Racing team to overcome
initial driver-based issues and develop the product to meet the
specific demands of a competitive motor racing outfit preparing for
race days. Taking over full support and maintenance, Panasonic UK
has ensured the project’s success by providing engineers with a clear
understanding of the fully configured notebooks, and supporting the
acquisition with an on-going repair and replacement service. All
units carry a warranty against accidental damage to the screen or
internal functioning, in which event data is salvaged and a swapout
provided. Panasonic also offers a 3 year warranty for replacement of
non-functioning hardware with a fast turnaround guaranteed.
Customers also get an enhanced service from Panasonic’s centre in
Cardiff which deals with repairs, installations and logistics for
customers throughout Europe. The Customer Services Centre has
launched its own web-based service where customers can log on to get
up-to-date information and feedback on the status of individual
repairs and replacement activity. Long term benefits all round
“Toyota Racing chose ToughBook for its unique benefits and ruggedised
features. Now, having used the equipment for the last three months,
they’ve not only found that it’s up to the challenging tasks given,
but that their cost of ownership has been reduced.” Russ Pickard Keen
to try out new ideas, such as introducing the ToughBook product, the
team’s early performance has been better than expected. Accurately
recording data at practice sessions is vital to the development to the
Panasonic Toyota Racing team. The results help the drivers and their
support engineers maintain a competitive edge and perform at their
peak every time. With a range that covers the entire width of the pit
lane and ability to withstand exposure to the elements, the Panasonic
equipment can be relied upon to perform anywhere in the pit and in all
weather conditions, providing the team with an essential tool to
measure achievement. ‘ToughBook has proven itself tough enough to
endure the fast pace and harsh conditions of the Formula One
environment time and again. With the wireless display providing
engineers with a completely mobile monitoring solution, we feel we’ve
found a lasting formula for an increasingly challenging task.”
Ossie Oikarin, Test Technical Engineer for Panasonic Toyota Racing
•
Go to top |
Download the PDF (483kb) |
Go back to the Case Studies page »
| 
