Yep, much faster.
Many of us hear about the
Internet of Things, and in many cases it is abstract. We get the concept
of machines talking to machines, but often we don't see it in our day-to-day
lives.
The other day, I was watching a
Formula 1 race, where IoT is not only enhancing competition but improving
safety - at over 200 mph - every second, every millisecond, for over 2
hours.
Unlike NASCAR, telemetry is not
only welcome in Formula 1, it can be a competitive advantage. There are
sensors all over those cars, you can see some little antennae here and there,
but there are also razor thin decals on the car as well. Each of these
transmits data back to some computer, usually in England, but also in the US,
and other places - regardless of where the race is being held. As the car
travels at 200 mph - thousands of miles away - real-time data is going from one
machine (the car) to another machine (at the headquarters) and then BACK to the
race track for the Team Manager and/or Team Strategist to review.
But it's not just data moving
this fast - it's not just numbers (barometric pressure, ambient temp, tire
temp, gear temp, torque ratio, wind resistance, g-forces, etc etc) - no it's
more than that. This isn't just sending data to a database for further
review - or capturing data on-board.
This data goes back to HQ,
directly to another computer, which then MAKES DECISIONS, and immediately
relays them back to the Strategist or Manager at the track - who then decides
to listen to the computer - or not.
And this happens faster than
the announcer can say the first letter of a word, faster than the driver can
complete the apex of the turn.
In Formula 1, certainly the
driver matters, certainly the team matters, certainly the equipment matters,
but this is a great example of those with the best information, perform the
best. Fast, timely, and accurate information using the
internet. Computer talking to computer talking to computer (thing talking
to thing talking to thing over the internet) - and then a human making a
decision. And, even then, these computers are FULLY capable of changing
the fuel/air ratio on the car, or automatically adjusting the spoilers, or even
slowing the car down - except competition rules don't allow
that...............yet.......yet.
But, in theory, the Internet of
Things can literally change the outcome of a race, with no human intervention
at all. How cool is that?
Oh, if that's not cool
enough? ALL of the data collected, by FIA rules, is also sent to the
Safety Team. In the unfortunate situation of an accident, the g-forces,
the wind-sheer, the angle of the car, the force of impact, and about 100 other
things are all sent - real-time, as it's happening to a computer. That
computer calculates the information and formulates potential safety
improvements to the cars and even to the tracks and barriers. A human
makes the final decision, but until then, the computers do the work.
And why Formula 1 as the
example? Because it is truly WORLDWIDE. Think about it, the race is
in China, the Headquarters in Silverstone, England - and the data goes back and
forth and back and forth between "things" non-stop! Across the
globe. Think about it, the Internet of Things, where language is not a
barrier, where geography is not a barrier, where geo-political tension is not a
barrier, where distance is not a barrier. A race in a country with a
language that doesn't even look like the language used in the country of the
headquarters - and data is just traveling around the globe perfectly fine - and
fast - and accurately. No barriers.
So, it's not just a
refrigerator calling for service when the Freon runs out, as many might
believe.
Pretty cool stuff! We live in
exciting times!
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