Formula 1 to test AI system for monitoring track limits
Formula 1's governing body, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), is gearing up to test an AI system for monitoring track limits at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Paris-based organization plans to use Computer Vision technology to assist officials in determining if a car's wheels have completely crossed the white boundary line. This move could significantly cut down on incidents that need manual review by officials.
How Computer Vision technology works
The Computer Vision technology analyzes shapes to count pixels crossing the track edge. Using it, FIA aims to lessen the burden on officials and speed up response times. The organization plans to test AI technology at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to address track limit violations. Tim Malyon, FIA's Deputy Race Director said the goal is to "remove the ones that don't need a human review," reducing the number of potential infringements officials manually review to around 50 per race.
AI to sort genuine breaches and reduce workload
The AI system will detect actual breaches where drivers cross the track's white line with all four wheels, making it easier for the FIA's remote operations center (ROC) to respond quickly. During the Austrian Grand Prix in July, four people had to process around 1,200 possible violations. Malyon mentions that the technology has been effectively used in medicine, like scanning cancer screening data to filter out cases that don't need further attention.
Future of real-time automated policing systems in F1 race calls
Although the FIA doesn't intend to fully automate track limit breach reviews just yet, Malyon believes AI systems will eventually take over. He stated, "I've said repeatedly that the human is winning at the moment in certain areas. That might be the case now but we do feel that ultimately, real-time automated policing systems are the way forward." This advancement could lead to more precise and efficient race calls in Formula 1 events.
