Microprocessors And Formula 1

[stopkidding 0]

A co-worker sent this link to me at work. This is a video interview of Karl Kempf. A largely obscure name to F1 fan yet a name intimately familiar to everyone in the F1 paddock. Currently Karl is an Intel Fellow, which is the highest technical position at the chip company (well we have Senior Intel Fellows too), but he started his career working for Goodyear back in the 70s and was credited with developing the first on board telemetry system used in race cars. During the course of his career in Formula 1 he worked for the Tyrell and Ferrari teams before joining Intel.

http://www.podtech.net/home/3402/microproc...ing-formula-one

The fascinating bits of the video are when he talks about the development of active suspensions, traction control, anti lock brakes and how it all begun with the tiny Intel 4004 microprocessor, the worlds first microprocessor.

Today I feel proud to work for this company :-)

[GlOWaBmWFaN 0]

Thx for post

U should be praud !!!

Karl just explain step by step all what they do to Formula One!

I watched this movie five times and every time catch something new

Its rly good looking INTEL and BMW Sauber F1.

Day by day were lernig something new about F1 and people who are in F1 Circus.

Thank u m8, its rly good staff !

[Halfie 0]

You know I have huge respect for the software people that work behind the scenes on the aspects of the processors and software that runs on these machines. The problem I have with Formula One is that they have taken a lot of jobs away from Software Engineers of late. Two way telemetry had a lot of teams grasping for software engineers to help them. I recall Jordan advertising for developers to work on such systems.

I also think the removal of Traction Control and Launch Control has also messed this up.

Not to mention that a standard ECU limits opportunities for these people. Eitherway I hope F1 does perhaps go back to more hands on software development. I guess theres always jobs in the engineering departments looking at simulations - hardly great fun I would imagine.

[stopkidding 0]

While the standard ECU takes away some of the software that needs to be developed, I am sure the challenges of ever changing regulations will ensure plenty of room for software engineers to show the ingenuity in other areas. From what I have read, technologies like the seamless transmissions are more software engineering than mechanical engineering...

[DOF_power 0]

I miss Active Suspension, TC, ABS and I hate this spec ECU piece of crap.

[Eric 0]

I miss Active Suspension, TC, ABS and I hate this spec ECU piece of crap.

I'm shocked. I've never heard a post like that from you.

[kuskor 0]

I was hoping for some more in depth information about introduction of electronics.

How did the drivers react, how much faster was the car, some incidents here and there to give us a taste of the process.

While interesting, it leaves a taste of "Intel-BMW-advertisment-video".

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/05/17/bann...ive-suspension/

[Eric 0]

So, what IS a microprocessor?

[goferrarigo 0]

So, what IS a microprocessor?

Well its a porcessor just smaller, but not small enough to be called a nano processor....

[AleHop 0]

I think both are quite the same.

Originally, at the time of discreet electronic components and the first IC's with a few hundred transistors, it was called processor but they changed the name when they were able to put thousands of transitors in a little piece of doped silicon and they got a lot of different units like cache, arithmetic, etc.

But when you say processor people assumes you are talking about a microprocessor. Today they are picoprocessors I think and still we say miroprocessors.