AI meets Formula E with the new Driver Agent, designed to elevate racing strategies. Discover how AI is transforming motorsports for next-gen racers.
Innovation has always been at the heart of Formula E, introducing the next generation of vehicle power to the racing circuit. The goal of democratising access to these new technologies has been equally significant.
In order to lay the technical groundwork for several of its advancements, Formula E has been collaborating with Google Cloud. This cooperation now includes helping to level the playing field, enhancing the track’s thrill, and most importantly encouraging and enabling the upcoming generation of racers.
Formula E and Google Cloud have acknowledged that not all drivers have the same access to data and analysis, and they are using Artificial Intelligence to assist close this gap. Additionally, they’re collaborating with groups like More than Equal to offer state-of-the-art AI tools and resources to help foster the growth of diverse racing talent.
The AI-Powered Driver Agent
The “Driver Agent,” an AI tool driven by Google’s Vertex AI platform and Gemini, the company’s cutting-edge AI foundation models, is at the center of this effort. The purpose of the Driver Agent is to analyse large amounts of multimodal data produced during racing and give drivers useful information. This information comes in several formats, including text, tabular data, and pictures of heatmaps and telemetry graphs. It contains important performance metrics like:
- Lap times
- Velocity
- Braking
- Quickening
- G-force
- Downforce
- Longitude and latitude
- Guiding
The Driver Agent operates as follows:
- During the race, the racing simulator generates thorough logs of the vehicle, which are transmitted to Google Cloud and stored there.
- A Cloud Run service, which pre-processes the race logs, is started by an event-based trigger via Pub/Sub. This comprises:
- Determining the race’s fastest lap
- Making static racing heatmap photos to send to Gemini and interactive lap heatmaps to show in the user interface
- Making specific BigQuery Tables and Views from the log data so they can be shared with Gemini and queried
- Gemini may analyse and evaluate this professional lap by joining table data from the upcoming race with comparative data from a race by a professional Formula E driver.
- Making a number of static (for Gemini) and interactive (for the user interface) graphs that display specific perspectives on lateral g-force, braking, and accelerating
- Restoring all of these resources to a different GCS bucket
- A program that spans two services:
- The UI is powered by the frontend.
- The Backend is an API server that coordinates the requests and answers provided to Gemini as well as the retrieval of the pre-processed data sources.
Democratizing Data for All
The Driver Agent is essential to democratising access to coaching and data-driven analysis. It offers comprehensive, real-time instruction via text and audio and can be connected to a Formula E driving simulator. By comparing low-level telemetry data from a user’s lap such as latitude, longitude, speed, braking percentage, g-force, downforce, etc. with data from a professional driver on the same track, this is accomplished.
Supporting More than Equal
The goal of More than Equal is to find and nurture the best female racers, and Google Cloud is actively helping this effort. This assistance consists of:
Granting More than Equal development drivers access to cutting-edge driving simulations at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport and Centre of Excellence for Women in Sport.
Five aspiring drivers in More than Equal’s Driver Development Program will receive the Driver Agent technology to help with their training.
Google Cloud’s concrete commitment gives the More than Equal Driver Development Program important access to AI Agent technologies.
Extending the Impact with Formula E
Google Cloud worked with Formula E to improve and enhance the Driver Agent in addition to supporting More than Equal. The highest level of electric motorsport, Formula E, offers a useful stage for demonstrating and developing AI applications in racing. Formula E race data is analysed by the Driver Agent, which gives drivers insights that enable them to:
- Boost your lap times
- Improve your acceleration and braking.
- Increase the downforce.
- Prevent collisions
Tests have shown that the Driver Agent has a lot of promise and can assist drivers get faster lap times. Google Cloud and Formula E are also helping level the playing field by providing more teams with advanced AI capabilities.
Formula E has always been an innovation platform, and it is excited to join with Google Cloud to elevate what’s possible with world-class technology with world-class motorsport. By creating and providing these state-of-the-art tools, it is contributing to the development of a future in which skill, not resources, determines racing talent, allowing a more diverse pool of drivers especially women to reach the pinnacle of sport.
Conclusion
Google Cloud and Formula E are committed to harnessing AI technology to have a positive effect on the world. by emphasising programs that give access to cutting-edge resources and encourage inclusion. helping to create a future in which opportunity will not be a barrier to talent.
