The world champion team has announced plans to work with new sponsor TeamViewer to explore the opportunities of AR technology.
Global software company TeamViewer works with many industry partners in helping provide AR solutions, and it has just become Mercedes’ third-biggest sponsor in its $300M total portfolio.
Mercedes believes there is room for improvement in the speed of problem-solving at the Grand Prix event and AR could be the solution. The company is looking to ramp up processes and reduce expenditure in the cost cap era by cutting down on staff that needs to travel to races.
The AR systems would allow a direct live contact between personnel at the track and staff at the factory that would provide a vital link on F1 race weekends.
Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff commented on the potential benefits by Autosport: “Formula 1 is a sport that travels around the globe. And in the same way, as we have our race support room, where we have around 30 people that monitor the car, that work in the simulator, and in the wind tunnel to enhance the performance on the track, we need to inspect high tech parts, such as the power unit hydraulics components and gearboxes.
“I think having remote access from the factory through the augmented reality possibilities that TeamViewer provide is going to give us an edge.
“The benefits are also that the remote work that we all have experienced in the last 12 months is also helping us to reduce our carbon footprint. We will be able to take fewer people to the race track because the remote access will allow us to have exactly the same kind of potential in working with our engineers on the track even when they are back at base.”
TeamViewer CEO, Oliver Steil said that AR had been a huge help in other industries, so was something that could certainly offer opportunities in F1.
“In manufacturing, logistics, repair, inspection, testing healthcare, we have solutions where the worker wears glasses and gets step by step instructions on those glasses,” he explained.
“When you have a very, very complex inspection of an aircraft engine for example, then you can have somebody on call who is a trained engineer but working in a different location – and they work together to solve a problem.
“We have many different use cases. It is really gaining momentum now across industries in a way, to either help people perform more complex tasks or to upskill existing workforces. Or you can just have higher quality, and a faster understanding, of what has worked and how the parts flow works.
“It’s what we’re offering many customers around the world, mostly large enterprises that are deploying the solution. I think over the years, there will certainly be an opportunity to discuss this also in the sports arena.”
