My heart is racing! Psychophysiological dynamics of skilled racecar drivers

Our purpose was to test the multi-action plan (MAP) model assumptions in which athletes’ psychophysiological patterns differ among optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Nine professional drivers competing in premier race categories (e.g., Formula 3, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge) completed the study. Data collection involved monitoring the drivers’ perceived hedonic tone, accuracy on core components of action, posture, skin temperature, respiration rate, and heart rate responses during a 40-lap simulated race. Time marks, gathered at three standardized sectors, served as the performance variable. The A1GP racing simulator (Allinsport, Modena) established a realistic race platform. Specifically, the Barcelona track was chosen due to its inherently difficult nature characterized by intermittent deceleration points. Idiosyncratic analyses showed large individual differences in the drivers’ psychophysiological profile, as well as distinct patterns in regards to optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Limitations and future research avenues are discussed. Action (e.g., attentional control) and emotion (e.g., biofeedback training) centered applied sport psychology implications are advanced

Coaching tools for high-performance driving

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2002.This project aimed to develop new tools to present and analyze data collected from race cars for the purpose of driver coaching. The tools developed are designed to quickly bring pertinent information to the surface and to further analyze the data for information that is not readily apparent. The working environment for the project was the Barber Dodge Pro Series, an entry-level professional racing series. A data viewer program called DataWizard was developed as a test-bed for new coaching tools, based on interviews, observations and feedback at Barber Dodge events. A method of track segmenting was developed as a new framework for organizing racecar data. Data from each lap is broken up by the section, turn, straight and brake zone, greatly improving the speed and ease of navigating though the data. A summary of vital statistics is created for each segment to bring key information to the surface. Two methods of displaying information about the driving line were also developed. One uses color overlaid on a track path to depict the path radius, the other method uses icons to mark turn-in, track-out and apex points along a track path. A racing GPS system was tested and suggestions are made as to how GPS data can be utilized along with data already commonly collected.by James Isaac Meyer.S.M

Using Themes Such as Motorsports as an Avenue to Incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Into Classrooms

Motorsports are often viewed in the public eye as a dangerous, boring, and wasteful sport that provides little benefit to society. In an era where the United States leads in innovation but is behind in Math and Science test scores, new ideas and methods need to be introduced. This senior capstone research project examines how Motorsports could serve as a theme for teaching Science, Technology, Math, Engineering (STEM) subjects. The STEM Education platform provides a new way of thinking for students who need something different in order to learn. This project explores the relationship between the exciting world of Motorsports and STEM subjects with surprising results. The results reveal that themes such as Motorsports can be used as an avenue to incorporate STEM in the classrooms

Design, Analysis, and Optimization of a FSAE Racecar

Each year SAE hosts the Formula SAE Colligate Design Competition for engineering students from around the world. The competition is judged based on the engineering, performance, and cost of a Formula style race car designed to be produced in a small 3000 unit production run. Our MQP analyzed an uncompleted FSAE car and designed and redesigned the different systems of the car. Another aspect of our project was studying the different systems of the car and determining how they can best be optimized to produce an increase in performance. A data acquisition system was also designed to record data from different systems to be used to help optimize the car. The data system was designed to be easily transferred between cars for use by future FSAE teams at WPI

Full vehicle dynamics model of a formula SAE racecar using ADAMS/Car

The Texas A&M University Formula SAE program currently has no rigorous method for analyzing or predicting the overall dynamic behavior of the student-designed racecars. The objective of this study is to fulfill this need by creating a full vehicle ADAMS/Car model incorporating an empirical tire-road force model and validating the longitudinal performance of the model by using vehicle responses recorded at the track. Creating the model requires measuring mass and inertia properties for each part, measuring the locations of all the kinematic joints, testing the Risse Racing Jupiter-5 shocks to characterize damping and stiffness, measuring engine torque, and modeling the tire behavior. Measuring the vehicle performance requires installation of the Pi Research DataBuddy data acquisition system and appropriate sensors. The 2002 Texas A&M University Formula SAE racecar, the subject vehicle, was selected because it already included some accommodations for sensors and is almost identical in layout to the available ADAMS/Car model Formula SAE templates. The tire-road interface is described by the Pacejka ??94 handling force model within ADAMS/Car that is based on a set of Goodyear coefficients. The majority of the error in the model originated from the Goodyear tire model and the 2004 engine torque map. The testing used Hoosier tires and the 2002 engine intake and exhaust configuration. The deliverable is a full vehicle model of the 2002 racecar with a 2004 engine torque map and a tire model correlated to longitudinal performance recorded at the track using the installed data acquisition system. The results of the correlation process, confirmed by driver impressions and performance of the 2004 racecar, show that the 2004 engine torque map predicts higher performance than the measured response with the 2002 engine. The Hoosier tire on the Texas A&M University Riverside Campus track surface produces 75??3% of peak longitudinal tire performance predicted by the Goodyear tire model combined with a road surface friction coefficient of 1.0. The ADAMS/Car model can now support the design process as an analysis tool for full vehicle dynamics and with continued refinement, will be able to accurately predict behavior throughout a complete autocross course

er.autopilot 1.0: The Full Autonomous Stack for Oval Racing at High Speeds

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) brought together for the first time in history nine autonomous racing teams competing at unprecedented speed and in head-to-head scenario, using independently developed software on open-wheel racecars. This paper presents the complete software architecture used by team TII EuroRacing (TII-ER), covering all the modules needed to avoid static obstacles, perform active overtakes and reach speeds above 75 m/s (270 km/h). In addition to the most common modules related to perception, planning, and control, we discuss the approaches used for vehicle dynamics modelling, simulation, telemetry, and safety. Overall results and the performance of each module are described, as well as the lessons learned during the first two events of the competition on oval tracks, where the team placed respectively second and third.Comment: Preprint: Accepted to Field Robotics "Opportunities and Challenges with Autonomous Racing" Special Issu

DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF A FSAE VEHICLE

The purpose of the Formula SAE Competition is to provide students the opportunity to design and build a prototype racecar for an amateur autocross racer and then demonstrate its performance in a competition setting. The project team built upon a car that was originally intended for use in the 2013 FSAE Collegiate Competition. The team performed component evaluation and reviewed past project team’s reports to determine what systems needed to be completed to make the car both operational and competitive. The areas that were addressed included the rear suspension, exhaust, continuously variable transmission (CVT), the body, and the wiring harness. All of the systems addressed were designed and validated. These subsystems were manufactured and integrated with the existing car

A system for aiding the user assimilation of acquired motorsport data

A racing car is a complex machine, featuring many adjustable components, used to influence the car's performance and tune it to a circuit, the prevailing conditions and the driver's style. A race team must continually monitor the car's performance and a race engineer communicates with the driver to decide how best to optimise the car as well as how to extract most from the driver himself. Analysis of acquired vehicle performance data is an intrinsic part of this process. This thesis presents an investigation into methods to aid the motorsport user's assimilation of acquired vehicle performance data. The work was directly prompted by personal experience and published opinion. These both find that the full potential of acquired data in motorsport is seldom realised, primarily because of the time available to analyse data with the resources available to a racing team. A complete solution including data management methods and visualisation tools was conceived here as a means of addressing these issues. This work focuses on part of the overall solution concept; the development of a visualisation application giving the user a detailed and realistic three-dimensional replay of a data set. The vehicle s motion is recreated from acquired data through a kinematic vehicle model driven by measured damper and ride height data. Ground displacement is computed from wheel speed and accelerometer measurements as well as a new optical sensor approach aiming to achieve better accuracy. This implements a two dimensional auto-correlation of doubly exposed ground images, calibrated to distance on the basis of an integrated ride height measurement. Three sensor units are used to allow not only displacement but also heading data to be derived. The result of the work described in this thesis is the proof of principle of both a display and sensor system, both of which were deemed worthy of further study and development to fully meet the demands of the motorsport application. The visualisation tool presented a new and applicable method of viewing acquired data, whilst the sensor was proven as a new method of deriving vehicle position data, from potentially low cost hardware.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

FSAE Damper Project

Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience: Winter 2006Formula SAE is an international collegiate design competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers in which students design and build a small, formula-style racecar. Because of power-train regulations, cars that exhibit the best handling characteristics have a distinct advantage. Utilizing a short-long arm suspension, most cars use dampers designed for mountain-bikes. Because dampers play a pivotal role in vehicle handling, and the mountain bike dampers used on previous MRacing vehicles are not well suited for our vehicle, we feel that a significant performance advantage can be obtained through constructing a custom set of dampers designed specifically for our car.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49574/2/proj25_report.pd