A critical component of a successful racing team is its ability to accumulate and understand many points of data.
Motorsports engineers thrive on racing data, as it helps them figure out how to make the car and driver a faster symbiotic unit. In the still fairly virgin world of the Formula E Championship, there's not a ton engineers can do during the race as live data is limited. Between the races, however, there's a lot to digest and examine.
Engineering Explained chatted with the team behind TE Connectivity and Formula E team Andretti Racing to get a deeper dive into the world of sensor strategy. This involves placing data acquisition devices anywhere possible on a given racing vehicle. You want to see the standard items such as throttle position, tire pressure, and so on, but you're also going to be monitoring a number of other factors that pertain specifically to the electric cars competing in Formula E.
Battery temperature is of crucial importance in this world. If the battery gets hot, it affects how the car regenerates power and forces an adjustment in braking bias. If it ultimately gets too hot, the car will even come to a stop.
Host Jason explores sensor strategy and shows a bit of the more interesting side of the Formula E world.
