Red Bull laser pit "parking" system

[f1motta]

It seems that Red Bull has some laser positioning system to help tyre team and drivers make pit stop faster



http://www.f1talks.pl/?p=8488

[pob]

Already mentioned in the red bull thread last month. It may be a laser thermometer.

[andrew]

This was noted by Giblet & I on the Malaysian GP thread. The consensus was that it was a laser thermometer.

I don't really understand why lasers would be needed given that the wheel positions are marked on the ground so the mechanics know their positions.

[Jersey Tom]

A laser thermometer? Uh... for what purpose?

[wunderkind]

A laser thermometer? Uh... for what purpose?

Probably for data purposes wanted by both Pirelli and Red Bull. Sometimes you see the tyre technicians go through the tyres with needle thermometers and little spatulas scrapping off materials from the tyres for analysis right after a pitstop.

[f1motta]

Google translation of that article:

Replacing the tires in F1 gained added significance when abandoned refueling during the race. The last race showed that the second in the pits can decide victory or defeat. Teams of mechanics more than they practice driver that comes when the right moment to do what is theirs. Last season the fastest Red Bull changed the mechanics and for them to the existing record 2.8 seconds. After all, over the whole season had the lowest average Mercedes team, who this season seem to be behind the best.
In addition to proper selection of the crew members responsible for the replacement tires (Red Bull used a psychological test), focus was also the "gadgets" used by the team. Ferrari was the first chosen to replace lolipopman specially designed system of lights, the original version of the minor modifications to work today.Other teams also have equipped their technicians in equipment to improve the process of replacement tires (the buttons on the gun signaling the completion of work). Mercedes also has invested in the nuts embedded in the alloy, which reportedly cost a fortune, but can be a mystery so fantastic results.
In Spain, came to light yet another novelty. Red Bull team uses a laser beam for direction on the driver's field of service. This sounds quite cosmic, but the picture posted by Adam Cooper, twitter, and a part of an official summary of the race in Malaysia seem to confirm this bold theory. The laser beam appears in the garage of Red Bull when changing tires.



What you see above is the result of the positioning system. Engineer responsible for identifying the point of stopping the car (front wheel), set in such a way that the radius of the cast from the top hit in one of the two circles on the upper plate-held by him. This point is determined according to the place where the mechanics lined up with guns. Their position is likely to be monitored by sensors placed on the outriggers located above the field replacement of tires.



If the driver does not commit an error and stops at the place designated by the label, the engineer will always have the car set in the same position. Even a minimal difference in setting your car may require the change of position by a mechanic, and thus the loss of valuable fractions seconds. Of course what I outlined above could be part of a more sophisticated system.

[speedsense]

A laser thermometer? Uh... for what purpose?

Probably for data purposes wanted by both Pirelli and Red Bull. Sometimes you see the tyre technicians go through the tyres with needle thermometers and little spatulas scrapping off materials from the tyres for analysis right after a pitstop.

A surface IR (if this is a thermometer) in this picture, is reading the "pick up" temp. Tells Pirelli and Red Bull nothing. The reason tire tech's use a needle (and not an IR gun) is to get inside the surface area to avoid a false outside surface reading. The car already has surface readings from the IR readings that are live on the car while it's running around the track. They also know the internal air temp for comparison.
The obvious reason to me, is a location reference for the driver that he's stopped in exactly the right place once he's seen the laser line on his tire, which he can adjust by letting the car roll a little further (if he stopped a little too short) until he sees the line. IMHO

[feynman]

It was discussed at the time ... yes... but laser sighting for positioning an infra-red thermometer made no sense. (You know the temperature of the tyres going on, and you get more and better subsurface measurements in the garage for the ones coming off).

So the matter was still an open question, but with the photo previously posted, it is closed.


You can clearly see the laser dot in the circle on the mechanics arm mounted stop board. You setup where you want the cars to stop, you adjust the laser spot as required, during pitstops the mechanic finds the spot, the car stops at the arm-board, it is now in position for the guys on the guns.

Seems a long way to go for a shortcut, not sure exactly how much you gain on telling the mechanic to keep his arm above a painted line in the pit box, although maybe easier to hold position rather than dealing with parallax and front wings and tyres sweeping over your painted marks.
It is then up to the driver to stop exactly at the board, which you'd have to say sounds like it would be your main source of position error, not the mechanics arm.
I guess it doesn't hurt, but does seem to be overengineering the problem just a little.