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TCS Sports Sponsorships: Blending Sports Technology and Sustainability
Highlights
- Jaguar TCS Racing collects approximately three terabytes of data over a race season.
- Having quick access to data enables accurate analysis and fast decision-making, which is crucial to Jaguar TCS Racing’s performance.
- With many Formula E races taking place on temporary street circuits in cities around the world, virtual simulation and digital twin technologies are essential for Jaguar TCS Racing engineers to test and optimize car setups and race strategies.
On this page
Energy strategies in Formula E
Driving a car in the highly competitive all-electric ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is often likened to playing a game of chess at 200mph due to the importance of strategy.
Manufacturers have the autonomy to develop hardware, such as the powertrain. However, the primary battleground for the teams to gain a competitive advantage is their software, as it can constantly evolve.
The significant regenerative capability of the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 requires teams and drivers to strategically consider when to exert and reserve energy, so the driver crosses the finish line not only in first place but having effectively used all available energy.
Data-driven decision making
Many factors influence energy management - data being one of the most important ones.
It is crucial that Jaguar TCS Racing’s engineers can access the data they need as quickly as possible to make informed decisions.
Jaguar TCS Racing collects data from every practice, qualifying, and race session—from speed of the car and lateral acceleration to steering angles and suspension geometry. The real-time analytics and machine learning capabilities are centralized in a database and subsets are made available to the relevant people incredibly quickly. This in turn helps race engineers and strategists analyse a larger volume of data in greater detail, providing the team with valuable insights for time-critical performance adjustments.
Data is only as valuable as the speed of access, and that’s where the support from TCS comes in. TCS harnessed the power of cloud technology to support the team’s existing data analytics software, speeding up the flow of data from the racetrack to the factory and vice versa. It provides Jaguar TCS Racing timely access to information that’s critical for performance at the racetrack and demonstrates how cloud transforms electric vehicle performance and connectivity.
Analysis of this data plays a crucial role in configuring the car’s setup, which includes the powertrain, mechanical suspension package, energy usage strategy, and software.
Simulating success
Another way to optimize the set up and strategy of the car is through simulation.
Digital twins are highly accurate virtual representations of a physical system, a concept that is now widely used across motorsport. Jaguar TCS Racing uses this technology for simulation in the lead up to and throughout the race season. It’s deployed for the development, optimization, and running of both the car and the race team.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s primary ‘digital twin’ comes in the form of a driver-in-the-loop simulator, which aims to replicate all aspects of the systems in the new Jaguar I-TYPE 6. It uses the highest level of correlation to reality; in the form of hardware when considering electrical distribution, and control systems and models, or digital twins for simulation of the physics of the car on the racetrack when in motion.
The simulator allows the drivers to immerse themselves in the digital version of the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 on Formula E circuits. This process replicates the drivers sitting in the cockpit of the race car. The steering wheel, seat, and all aspects of driver interaction, even the radio link to the race engineering team, are all replicated to be as close to reality as possible.
This allows teams to get familiar with the track, without having to be physically on the ground, therefore removing the need for additional air travel.
Cloud, digital twin technology, and rapid access to critical data allow Jaguar TCS Racing to push the boundaries in the virtual world to improve the race car’s performance in the real world.
2023 track moments
Behind the scenes at the Sao Paulo racetrack
How do we know all this actually makes a difference on race day? Watch this video from the 2023 Sao Paulo E-Prix to find out for yourself.