This article discusses how the MotoE World Cup data acquisition system is made and what telemetry data is available for teams and riders.
In the past edition of the MotoE World Cup, we made exciting infographics with the telemetry data that some teams shared with Epaddock. We have published the acceleration comparisons between MotoE and Moto3, braking data and much more; you can find them all in the "Numbers and Data". However, we realized that we had talked a lot about data but not about how they were obtained, so we decided to write this post entirely dedicated to the data acquisition system.
How the data acquisition system is made
The data acquisition system's main function is to record the signals of all the sensors installed on the motorbike during each session on track. When the rider returns to the pits, the team's engineer downloads the recorded data set and analyzes it. It is thus possible to see the sectors of the track where the rider can improve, the suspensions' behaviour, or how the tyres' pressure and temperature change.
The elements that compose the system are: the signal transmission channel CAN (acronym for Controlled Area Network), the data collection unit (Data Logger), the inertial platform IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), the TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System), the VCU (Vehicle Control Unit), the transponder and the TV module.
The system was illustrated to us by Paolo Colombo, head of Dell'Orto for the MotoE project. The Italian company is a technical partner for the MotoE World Cup and is responsible for the data acquisition system's supply and integration. To see the details, click on the image. The components directly supplied by Dell'Orto are indicated in red.
What is the telemetry data
Among the main data that the team technicians can analyze is the speed of the bike, the number of laps, the battery charge level, the amount of energy regenerated during braking, the lean angle of the motorbike, the dynamics of the front and rear suspension, brake use, tyre temperature and pressure, lap times and intermediates. As can be seen, most of the available data are related to the mechanical part and not to the powertrain. This is because the championship organization has decided to limit the number of variables available to the teams to have a more homogeneous competition. For example, for the same philosophy, Michelin supplies only one type of slick and one rain tyre for each race. The data visualization software is DoData, developed directly by Dell'Orto. The data transfer from the Data Logger occurs when the bike returns to the pits, while the technical regulations prohibit real-time transmission.
What to do with telemetry data
In addition to the parameters recorded directly by the sensors, it is possible to derive others by suitably combining the former. Dell'Orto has developed several algorithms and logic based on the signals coming from the sensors installed on the motorbike. The most important of these is the slip of the rear tyre. The calculation is made using the rotation speed data of the front and rear tyres, the size and geometric profile of the two tyres, and the motorcycle's lean angle.
In this way, teams and riders can see at which point and in what conditions the rear tyre begins to slip and decide if and how to intervene, for example, by changing the bike set-up or the rider's riding style.
The MotoE is a class where there is little time to do tests on track. The riders manage to complete around ten laps in each free session on a race weekend, which means having about thirty test laps before the race start. For this reason, the telemetry of the bike is vital because it allows teams and riders to find the points in which to improve by analyzing the data between one session and another.
The following are examples of infographics that we have created in collaboration with some teams of MotoE World Cup; many others are available in the section "Numbers and Data".
Numbers and Data
The performance of the MotoE
Partner team: LCR E-Team
Numbers and Data
The performance of the braking system
Partner team: Gresini Racing
Numbers and Data
Comparative MotoE- Moto3
Partner team: Aspar Team
Numbers and Data
Misano: speed and lean angle data
Partner team: Sic58 Squadra Corse
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