Many are fans of Formula 1 racing . F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, with single-seaters that were designed to be simple and cheap but have evolved into some of the most advanced and technologically advanced vehicles in existence today. In addition, they are used as a testing ground for new technologies that will later be used in street cars, among other sectors.
Despite the great excitement that F1 moves, the technologies within these cars remain unknown to many spectators. For this reason, in this article we are going to see what electronics an F1 hides in its SECU or ECU and what processors and software it uses to make everything work on a race weekend.
Index of contents
- What is the ECU?
- What CPU does the F1 ECU use?
- The new version of the ECU for the new F1
- ATLAS server
- ECU architecture for the F1
- The sensors of an F1
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What is the ECU?
The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) , also called electronic control unit, is an essential component for an F1. It is a device capable of collecting and processing information from the different sensors that exist in an F1 and transmitting it wirelessly with the help of the telemetry system for information from the engineers. In the past, telemetry was bidirectional, that is, the car transmitted to the engineers and they could also send information to modify the car’s parameters. Currently that is prohibited, and it is only in one direction.
Not only F1 cars have an ECU, but also other single-seaters in the motorsport world and even modern street cars have one.
In order to control costs and promote greater equality between the different teams, the FIA made a decision in 2006 for all teams to choose a standardized ECU for all cars. In this way, each team was prevented from designing its own and also avoided insights from some to try to get more performance from the vehicle. Like that hidden menu that Williams pulled out of his sleeve, among others.
Ultimately, the FIA chose the ECU exposed by McLaren, specifically the one created by the McLaren Electronics Systems division together with Microsoft and Freescale. This ECU or SECU (Standard ECU) is the one currently used by all teams. In addition, to prevent McLaren from taking advantage of the ECU and harming other teams, some things have been regularized, in addition to the fact that the FIA will have access to the data downloaded from it.
McLaren Electronic System, as I mentioned above, is an independent company belonging to the McLaren Group . It is in charge of developing and supplying the ECU for the control of different competitions, including F1. Thanks to this central control unit, it is possible to control the engine, transmission, steering wheel, suspensions in an advanced way, and obtain a large amount of information from the different sensors installed in the vehicle.
Specifically, and in more detail, this solution comprises powertrain control, data logging and in-car telemetry control as well as a central data server in the garage, which receives information from the car, recording it for the subsequent analysis redistributing it in the tools that each team has chosen to use.
What CPU does the F1 ECU use?
McLaren ECU
The McLaren-designed ECU is based on an MCU, or microcontroller, designed and manufactured by Freescale . This company is the old Motorola factories, when the American firm decided to become a fabless and get rid of its foundry to now become an IDM. This company creates a large number of devices for different sectors, including the automotive industry.
Specifically, the ECU called TAG-E10B used by the F1 is composed of a 32-bit 4-core Freescale central processor that works at 200 Mhz . This processor is based on the ISA PPC (PowerPC).
This system also works thanks to an ecosystem known as ATLAS (Advanced Telemetry Linked Acquisition System or Advanced System of Telemetry Linked to Analysis). This is made up of servers and analysis tools to process all the information received by the car’s ECU.
The new version of the ECU for the new F1
After the TAG-310B model that was used from 2006, and which failed in numerous teams, either due to youth problems of the ECU itself or due to a bad adaptation of the team, all the teams were able to install an improved version, TAG- 320, in 2013 , which has the same size, but better performance and interfaces.
This model does not provide any mechanical advantage over its predecessor. But the new version is focused on the new power units of 2014 . That is, when the V6 Turbo Hybrid era began that is now continuing, with the new ICE units, MGU-K (Regenerative Brake Energy Recovery Unit, i.e. KERS), MGU-H (Brake Energy Recovery Unit, exhaust), TC (turbocharger), ES (batteries), and EX (exhaust system).
ATLAS server
The ECU monitors all aspects of the power train and stores data from all the sensors located in the car. This can generate between 100 kilobytes and 0.5 megabytes per second . An ECU accumulates a little more than 1 GB of information during a Grand Prix race, relaying all the telemetry to the engineering team in real time (braking, acceleration, gear changes, tire temperatures, downforce, suspensions,…).
The ATLAS server must save all the reported data without data loss and offer the appropriate translation for each of the values obtained from the sensors and that can be in a comprehensible unit for the engineers who analyze the data instantly. It is important to highlight this, since a temperature sensor does not collect the temperature as such, but generates an electrical signal in response to the average temperature, but then this must be translated by software to ºC, for example.
In the case where all the information is not relayed due to limited bandwidth , when the car returns to the garage, all this data is sent to the server and fills in the gaps that previously existed. This is achieved when the mechanics connect the car with a cable connected to a PC and called an umbilical. In addition, through this cable you can use a bidirectional telemetry, and it is used to carry out the setup of the car, such as the differential lock, etc.
McLaren Electronics and Microsoft have worked together to develop this technology. Currently it is a technology that has proven its efficiency and its capacity with all the seasons that we have carried out so far with this new standardized ECU unit.
Not surprisingly, since Microsoft collaborated on this technology, the Redmond company also wanted to use its own software to complement the McLaren ECU for F1. And that means using data processing tools like Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with Open Database Connectivity Standard (ODBC) or Database Linking and Embedding (OLEDB) without needing to understand the file formats being used. employ. In addition to the ability of this tool to process data by engineers, he also saw another advantage in it, which is the Microsoft SQL Server database file streaming feature.
The new File Streaming integrates the SQL Server database engine with the NTFS file system for data storage media. A binary data format is used, which has its advantages, but also its drawbacks, since it is easier to corrupt than plain text.
SQL transaction statements are arranged to enter, update, query, and back up streaming data to the database. This is about the server, but then there is the client side, that is, the PCs and laptops with which the engineers work on the wall or in the box, or in the factory. These computers, of course, use Microsoft Windows with different apps to access the data that may vary from one computer to another, and may be customized solutions in some cases.
ECU architecture for the F1
Regarding the architecture that forms all this framework that interacts with the ECU, it must be said that McLaren Electronics developed a multilevel system that includes:
- ECU: is the embedded device that goes inside the F1 car, specifically installed in the nose, with a front opening for cooling that teams usually install at the tip of the nose of the cone. As I have already mentioned, this device works with assembled code that collects data from the powertrain, transmission, suspension system, chassis components and other key elements. It encrypts the data and retransmits it to the computer. It is made up of several separate devices:
- SECU TAG-310B or TAG-320B– Either the unit used from 2006 to 2013 or from 2013 to present.
- LIU-4 interface: it is another device that is responsible for signal conditioning for five-wire LVDT position sensors.
- PB2006 Ignition Source/Injection– Provides regulated power sources around the car as well as high power ignition management and staging on a 10, 8 or 6 cylinder engine.
- LRX-310B Microwave Receiver – Modulateswith an integral antenna the turn-by-turn as it is transmitted between the ECU and the track transmitters.
- HIU-3 (interface hub units): one is mounted at each corner of the car, that is, on all four wheels. These units send signals via two CAN networks to reduce wiring on the car’s axles and save weight.
- EDR-400: Itis a kind of compact storage medium developed solely for racing applications. It has 42 direct inputs, plus inputs from the CAN sensor interface units. With a capacity of 1 GB, GPS and an integrated telemetry option at a speed of 115.2 kbps.
- CBM-470B– This is a telemetry unit for motorsport and road car automotive applications, designed to support wireless data transfer and provide local data logging. The unit runs on an Intel Atom processor, and a Linux RTOS (Real Time Operating System) distribution.
- ATLAS Server– All data recorded in the ECU is sent via the ATLAS server developed by McLaren Electronics. This server is also based on Microsoft technologies, such as the Visual Studio IDE. This server decompresses the telemetry data received from the ECU and multicasts it to the ATLAS software that serves each computer.
- ATLAS Remote Data Server (RDS): enables real-time telemetry to be displayed simultaneously in different parts of the world. And it is that, in an F1 race there are not only the engineers who travel to the track, there are also other teams of engineers in the different factories of the teams analyzing all the information. This distribution is achieved through several remote data servers that can be daisy chained so that live telemetry data can be analyzed on the track, at the factory and with the propellant supplier. Bandwidth is often limited, so the speed with which the data arrives at the factory will not be as fast as desired. RDS ensures that the most recent data is sent first and the oldest is filled in when bandwidth is available.
- ATLAS Client: So far we’ve talked about the server side, but there is also ATLAS client software that runs on team computers, usually laptops. It facilitates the visualization in real time of the information and the corresponding graphs that help the teams to understand the spectrum of parameters offered by the single-seater on the track. This client runs on Microsoft Windows operating systems. In addition, it is also complemented with Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets for subsequent analysis and visualization. In the big Formula 1 teams, there are around 30 members studying the ECU reports on their computers during a Grand Prix, along with a group of engineers and technicians studying the data from the transmission, engine, suspension and other systems.
- ATLAS Database: the bbdd offers a way to hierarchize and save the relational data that is dispatched by a central repository. A data host that runs on Microsoft SQL Server with a Windows Server Enterprise operating system (on servers that can be with different processors, such as AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon), using the File Streaming feature for lighter access , provides transparent access to ECU historical data. Conchango (a company specializing in SCRUM methodology) works with McLaren Electronics and Microsoft on this database solution. The database scheme includes all the metadata about the races, tests and events in which an ECU is available, in addition to a specific table for each session with a BLOB column (object loaded in the kernel of an open source operating system) with the file sequence. Finally, it uses a common language runtime (CLR) hosted on SQL Server. When data from the ECU is requested, a CLR function extends the binary data as a parameter result set so that it can be requisitioned at a later time by the corresponding visualization tools.
The sensors of an F1
Current F1 cars are complex machines packed with sensors . They can use hundreds of them, and when extraordinary tests are carried out, such as tests, many other external sensors can also be included, from pitot tube racks, to laser sensors, etc.
Currently, the ECU will monitor around 120 functions of multiple types. In addition, some of the sensors supported by the new McLaren ECU are:
- Engine air supply pressure valves. (now turbo engines, with higher pressure than atmospheric).
- Engine air tank valve.
- Pressure of the air inlets, both those of the airbox and that of the sidepods or pontoons.
- Ambient temperature sensor.
- FOM camera sensor.
- ICE crankshaft sensors.
- Fuel injector supply voltage.
- UEGO left and right margin sensor.
- Gearbox shift drum position sensors.
- Rotational speed of the gearbox shaft.
- Clutch position sensors.
- Clutch hydraulic pressure sensor.
- Lateral acceleration sensors (G), used for example when an impact or accident occurs to see the Gs supported by the pilot.
- Longitudinal acceleration sensors (G).
- Differential hydraulic pressure sensor.
- Engine throttle position sensors.
- Hand controller demand.
- Front brake pressure.
- Rear brake pressure.
- Manual controller enabler.
- Hydraulic system pressure.
- Lap time sensor.
- Selection of garage mode.
- Engine on/off switch.
- Sensors for each wheel.
- Gearbox oil pressure gauge.
- Engine oil pressure gauge.
- Engine crankcase pressure gauge.
- Engine cooling pressure gauge.
- Fuel pressure gauge.
- Fuel manifold pressure sensor.
- Fuel manifold level sensor.
- Gearbox oil temperature sensor.
- Engine oil temperature sensor.
- Engine coolant temperature sensor.
- Fuel temperature sensor.
- Exhaust pipe outlet temperature sensor.
- Additional analog inputs.
- Additional switch inputs.
- additional speed inputs
- Additional LVDT 1 sensor.
All of this is what the telemetry information returns to the engineers and also provides information to the FIA in the event of an accident or to analyze whether a penalty is necessary.