Sailing by the numbers – America’s Cup Update II
Following our earlier post is this update on how Mathematics gave the American boat the speed edge to win one of the most remarkable comebacks in sport:
“Computer whiz Asim Khan oversaw Oracle Racing’s immense database, developing the hardware and software systems that fed “live” performance data to the crew and helped unlock the secrets to performance gains before and during the regatta.
“These are complex boats – their performance doesn’t just happen,” Khan told the Weekend Herald from Oracle Racing’s San Francisco base….From backing up about 4 gigabytes of data on a single DVD after Oracle’s 2007 campaign, Khan estimates he’s collected “in the order of 300gb” this time. “On a daily basis, you can’t really analyse it unless you’ve got really good tools.”
He credits new hardware added in April for a “10-times” speed improvement on some tasks and faster wi-fi connections for the onboard crew.
With more than 300 sensors mounted on the boat, the speed with which performance data is conveyed and analysed is vital, he says. In trialling, data is relayed to the chase boat, the “analytical hub” where the performance team can call and monitor the impacts of various changes.
“We’ve got about 3000 variables running about 10 times a second when we’re sailing, from sensors that measure strain on the mast to angle sensors on the wing sail that monitor the effectiveness of each adjustment.”
But in racing, the telemetry “black box”, which allows remote control of boat componentry, is removed and the sailors rely only on data measuring the boat’s performance and weather and tide information sent to their tablets and PDAs – the wristwatch-like monitors worn on their sleeves.
“It’s quite customised – each person is looking for different information. Grinders may be interested in hydraulic pressure so they can redirect power to a foil and the trimmers in checking the sheet load so they don’t break anything while they’re pulling on a rope.”
In a pre-regatta statement, grinder Gilberto Nobili said, “We drive the boat basically on numbers, so it’s a big problem to have information that is even seconds late. The foiling requires real-time information that needs to be really accurate.”
Article Source: NZ Herald
