The world champion team have revealed their intention to work with new sponsor TeamViewer to explore the opportunities that can be offered with AR technology.
Global software company TeamViewer, which has just become Mercedes’ third-largest sponsor in its total $ 300 million (USD) portfolio, is working with many industry partners to help deliver augmented reality solutions.
Mercedes believes AR can help improve problem-solving speed at grand prix, speed up processes, and reduce expenses in the era of cost caps by not requiring as many staff to get to races.
The idea is that the AR systems would allow for direct live contact between the staff working on the track and associated plant personnel, which would provide a vital link on F1 race weekends.
Asked about the potential benefits of Autosport, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: “Formula 1 is a sport that travels the world. And in the same way that we have our race support room, where we have about 30 people watching the car, working in the simulator and in the wind tunnel to improve the performance on the track, we have to inspect the high tech parts. , such as hydraulic components of the power unit and gearboxes
“I think that remote access from the factory thanks to the augmented reality possibilities that TeamViewer offers us will give us an advantage.
“The benefits are also that the remote working that we have all experienced over the past 12 months also helps us reduce our carbon footprint. We will be able to take fewer people to the race track because remote access will allow us to have exactly the same type of potential working with our engineers on the track even when they are back at base.
Toto Wolff, Executive Director (Business), Mercedes AMG and the Mercedes team celebrate at the end of the race
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
TeamViewer CEO Oliver Steil said AR has been of great help in other industries so it was something that could certainly provide opportunities in F1.
“In manufacturing, logistics, repair, inspection, health care testing, we have solutions where the worker wears glasses and gets step by step instructions on those glasses,” he explained. .
“When you do a very, very complex inspection of an airplane engine, for example, you can have someone on call who is a qualified engineer but works in a different location – and they work together to solve a problem. .
“We have many different use cases. It is really gaining momentum now in all industries in some way, either to help people with more complex tasks or to upgrade the skills of the existing workforce. Or you can just get better quality and a faster understanding of what worked and how the flow of parts works.
“This is what we offer to many customers around the world, mainly large companies that are deploying the solution. I think that over the years there will certainly be an opportunity to discuss this in the sports arena as well.
