BMW develops head-up display for Ralf's helmet

BMW develops head-up display for Ralf Schumacher's helmet
13. August 2002
Munich, Germany. August 13, 2002. In the run-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix,
the BMW Technology Office takes the wraps off an innovative Formula One
product. A miniature head-up display system in the size of 6x8 millimeters
integrated in Ralf Schumacher's helmet will enable a wide range of
information and messages to be relayed to the driver. With this "visual
information window" BMW is setting new standards for safety in Formula One.
It means racing drivers can register visual information while still paying
full attention to their driving.

Aided by this innovative technology, the driver can be alerted, for example,
to an accident on a certain stretch of the track or a patch of oil in a
particular turn. "With this device, BMW has taken a further important step
forward on the safety front," says Ralf Schumacher of the BMW WiliamsF1
Team. The display system was devised by the BMW Technology Office based in
Silicon Valley's Palo Alto in collaboration with a local partner company
specializing in electronics and with the German helmet manufacturer
Schuberth. Ralf Schumacher will use the mini head-up display in his helmet
starting with the forthcoming season. Tests are scheduled to be completed in
2002.

This pioneering technology opens up an entirely new channel of communication
between the pits and the driver. A module integrated in the helmet stores
various messages and images in a data set, which can be called up from the
pits and displayed to the driver. The mini head-up display projects the
relevant "transparent" image through the visor on a level with the front of
the car. The driver registers the information without being distracted from
what is happening on the track.

The BMW mini head-up display has a high-resolution true color display based
on active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) technology. The key function
of the display is found in a unique lens element known as a free form prism
(FFP). Thus the driver is able to see the picture pin sharp.


Formula One as an ideal application and test area

The mini head-up display enables the projection of any number of optical
messages into the driver's direct field of vision. For Formula One testing,
the miniature display was integrated into the chin cup of a modified
Schuberth RF-1 racing helmet. Additional walls and padding were used in
accordance with guidelines from the SNELL Foundation (the helmet safety
organization). The system is located in the peripheral vision field of the
driver's dominant eye. Thanks to the unique design of the system, the
information is projected into the driver's field of vision without his
having to actually look at the display. "The eye very quickly gets used to
this small spot and ignores it as if it were a tiny insect on the
windscreen," explains Jürgen Brügl, project engineer at the BMW office in
Palo Alto.

With the help of the miniature display, the F1 driver is fed a wide range of
information on the race and on safety precautions straight from the pits. It
means the driver is permanently informed of his position in the race, can
receive instructions from the pits during the race and training, such as "go
faster", "come into the box" or "oil in turn 2", and is kept up to date on
flag signals and emergency procedures by means of messages such as "pit
traffic" or "oil pump". Moreover, it allows the instructor in the pits to
send the driver an SMS through bi-directional telemetry. This information is
relayed straight to the display. Similarly, information on the engine
management (e.g. "oil pressure low") can be sent directly to the driver
without having to go through the pits. It all helps to save precious time.

Network-style innovation management as the basis of technological progress
The integral head-up display was developed in the westernmost office of the
BMW Group's Research and Technology Center (FIZ), right in the middle of
Palo Alto in Silicon Valley. Since 1998, 16 associates - IT experts,
logisticians, chemists and engineers from various specialist fields - have
been working towards a common objective, namely to ensure the fastest
possible integration of innovative technologies into BMW cars. "Thanks to
our Technology Office we have our finger on the pulse of the time and are in
a position to harness the rapid developments in communications and
information technology in Silicon Valley to our own purposes," says Dr.
Burkhard Goeschel, BMW Group board member responsible for Development and
Purchasing. The BMW Technology Office specializes in highly innovative,
cutting-edge technologies.



Contact:

BMW AG, AK-21
Joerg Kottmeier
Tel: +49-89-382-23401
[Printview]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Nr.: 020813 | 13. August 2002 | BMW of North America Inc | Roy Oliemuller
| Tel: (01) 201 / 307-4082 | e-mail ]