Xilinx Announces Technology Collaboration With the BMW WilliamsF1 Team For The 2003 Formula One Season
Xilinx and BMW WilliamsF1 Team Up to Enhance the Performance of the 2003 Challenger, the FW25
SAN JOSE, Calif. and WEYBRIDGE, England, May 30 -- Xilinx, Inc. today announced a collaboration with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team for the 2003 Formula One season. The technology alliance represents the culmination of a long-standing relationship between the two companies. Xilinx provides the BMW WilliamsF1 Team with its technology and support services for the vehicle control module (VCM). The Xilinx-enabled VCM is used to control essential components such as the gearbox, differential, traction control, launch control and telemetry.
Xilinx(R) Virtex-II(TM) Platform FPGAs are used to gather data from the many sensors placed over the body of the car, monitoring the performance of the aerodynamics, engine, gearbox, tires, and wheels. The VCM transmits this sensor data back to the pit lane using a separate telemetry link. With leading edge technology -- greater on-chip functionality and lower power consumption, Xilinx technology has ensured that the VCM unit is reduced in size and weight, ultimately enhancing the performance of the car.
Xilinx's next-generation Virtex-II Pro(TM) FPGAs are also being designed in the BMW WilliamsF1 Team's next generation VCM, which will benefit from the latest in leading edge technology from Xilinx. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team will also be using Xilinx Titanium and Platinum support packages that will provide a suite of service and support tools including on-site design support and training.
"Xilinx is proud to be associated with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team. As we work more and more closely with the team's engineers, we are convinced that our technology will enable the BMW Williams F1 Team to achieve even better results," said Paul McCambridge, vice president of Xilinx Europe.
At the announcement of the collaboration, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team Principal Frank Williams said, "We are delighted that the team's relationship with an organisation of Xilinx' stature has moved a stage further than a long- standing and valued technical alliance. By partnering with a leading NASDAQ company such as Xilinx, we are confident of the benefits to the team and are certain we can offer significant benefits in return."
About WilliamsF1
WilliamsF1 is one of the world's leading Formula One teams. Formed in 1977 by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, the company has secured 16 FIA Formula One World Championship titles. Nine of these titles have been won in the Constructors' Championship in association with Cosworth, Honda and Renault. The remaining seven titles are Driver's Championships, won with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
Today, WilliamsF1 employs around 450 personnel at a 40ha technology campus based in the heart of the UK's 'Motorsport Valley' in rural Oxfordshire. The company's core competencies are the design and manufacture of Formula One race cars, and the deployment of this expertise in running the team's entries into the 16 Grands Prix each season. For more information, please visit: www.williamsf1.com.
About Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. is the worldwide leader of programmable logic solutions. Additional information about Xilinx is available at www.xilinx.com.
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