Q&A: Microsoft Automotive Worldwide Director Manuel Simas talks about a new project to develop on-car electronic systems for Formula One cars.
Microsoft and McLaren Electronic Systems are working together to help Formula One teams race faster, smarter and safer.
PARIS — 11 Dec 2006 — McLaren Electronic Systems (MES) and Microsoft Corp have formally announced today that they are to be the official suppliers of Engine Control Units (ECUs) to the FIA Formula One World Championship for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 racing seasons.
The EMEA Press Centre spoke with Microsoft Automotive Worldwide Director Manuel Simas about the collaboration with MES, the benefits that together the two companies will be able to bring to the Formula One community and what’s in store for the future.
EMEA Press Centre (EPC): Today MES and Microsoft announced that they are to be the official suppliers of Engine Control Units (ECUs) to the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2008 to 2010. Can you tell us more about this win and what it means for Microsoft?
Simas: Sure. A while back motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, decided that it wanted to help reduce costs, increase competition and support fuel-efficiency and energy-recovery initiatives in Formula One. As part of this initiative it tendered a contract for the appointment of a supplier of standard ECUs and associated software.
We worked with MES to present a joint bid to the FIA and in July the FIA announced that our offer had been successful. This means that, together with MES, we will be the sole supplier of ECUs to all Formula One teams for the 2008 to 2010 racing seasons. MES will be providing a race car telemetry, data management and analysis solution to Formula One teams beginning in 2008. The solution is built on Microsoft software and takes advantage of Microsoft’s software engineering expertise. Hardware, including the ECUs, will be provided by hardware manufacturers.
It is a very exciting opportunity for Microsoft as we will have the chance to work closely with MES to develop innovative technologies, combining our technology experience with their engineering knowledge and our collective understanding of the automotive sector. It might surprise people to know that Microsoft’s been present in the automotive industry for more than ten years.
We see Formula One as a challenging proving ground that demands the highest standards of performance from all its components, including both people and products. The fact that we have been selected by the FIA and MES is a powerful testimonial to the performance capabilities of Microsoft products and makes us very proud.
EPC: What is an Engine Control Unit and what does it do?
Simas: The Engine Control Unit is a small box installed on every Formula One car that is connected to the many electronic systems on the vehicles, such as the telemetry reader or driver’s display. They are used by team engineers to gather important racing data that in turn will help them improve the car’s performance and plan a strategy for the next race.
EPC: What will the new ECUs do?
Simas: The systems will monitor all aspects of the power train (engine, transmission, driveshafts, differentials, gearbox, etc) and gather data from over 100 sensors located on an F1 car. These sensors will generate 100 to 500kb of data per second so, during just one Grand Prix race, an ECU may gather more than one gigabyte of information. This data will be continuously broadcast in real-time back to systems located in the pit-side garage of each Formula One team for more detailed analysis.
What’s new is that these systems will offer enhanced capabilities for processing high-fidelity health and performance information and allow a team to store and compare historical data from tests drives, previous races and dyno runs; as well as the verification of car set-up and race strategy simulations. As a result, teams’ engineers will be able to make faster decisions about vehicle set-up and race strategy, which of course is vital to winning a Grand Prix.
EPC: What are the benefits that Formula One teams will gain by using these new ECUs systems?
Simas: Using Microsoft “powered” ECUs, Formula One teams will benefit from three things. Firstly, together with MES, we will be able to provide the FIA and the Formula One community with the opportunity to reduce costs through the use of a standards-based common platform and services. Secondly, by using Microsoft products that are innovative, easy to use and to integrate with other systems already in place, we are providing Formula One teams with the right tools and the right technology to succeed in their World Championship endeavours. Finally, thanks to the new system’s enhanced capabilities, team mechanics, pit crews, engineers and technical staff will be able to make faster decisions about vehicle set-up and race strategies.
EPC: What kind of Microsoft technology will be used?
Simas: It might surprise you to know that many Formula One teams are already using Microsoft Windows technology at their pit-side garages — everything from Microsoft Excel to Microsoft SQL Server to gather and analyse data.
For the new ECU we are planning to integrate the latest high-performance computing technology using Microsoft Vista, Microsoft SQL Server; Microsoft Office 2007 and other Microsoft software platforms and products as appropriate into these systems.
EPC: Why has MES chosen to work with Microsoft?
Simas: MES is a long-term user of Microsoft products and has a very deep knowledge of the innovative technology that Microsoft can offer. MES believed Microsoft was the right partner to help them meet the exacting requirements of the FIA and of the broader Formula One community and the combination has turned out to be a winning one.
EPC: So what’s the future for Microsoft in Formula One?
Simas: At the moment we are focusing on the next 20 months as there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure we collectively deliver the best ECUs possible. I see Microsoft’s involvement in Formula One as a platform to drive our business in all automotive sectors and also, of course, in others industries such as high tech, mobile communications, etc. We have already been involved in a project around the Indy Racing League and we will certainly continue to look at ways to expand this project into other motorsports and general automotive, not precluding also other areas. Let’s see what comes next.
