formula 1
Latest
Robot arm takes engineers for a virtual reality Formula 1 ride (video)
As it turns out, industrial-strength robot arms are good for more than amusing hijinks and the occasional assembly line -- a team of researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics have turned a KUKA KR 500 into the ultimate Formula 1 simulator ride. Outfitting the six-axis, half-ton lifter with a force-feedback steering wheel, pedals, video projector and curved screen, the newly-christened CyberMotion Simulator lets scientists throw a virtual Ferrari F2007 race car into the turns, while the cockpit whips around with up to 2 Gs of equal-and-opposite Newtonian force. There's actually no loftier goal for this particular science project, as the entire point was to create a racing video game that feels just like the real thing -- though to be fair, a second paper tested to see whether projectors or head-mounted displays made for better drivers. (Projectors won.) See how close they came to reality in a video after the break, while we go perform a little experiment of our own. [Thanks, Eric]
British Grand Prix: A rare glimpse behind the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team (video)
Jealous much? Don't be. I had to sacrifice my ears to the roaring engines at Silverstone last Friday, just for you lovely people. While the Formula One teams were taking a break from the Grand Prix practice sessions, I was able to sneak into the pit area and get up close to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' shiny stallions -- no touching allowed, naturally, but I did learn a thing or two about their pre-race preparation. And to top things off, legendary driver Jenson Button also popped by to share some thoughts on McLaren's F-duct system (a cunning and legal trickery that lets the driver's left leg redirect airflow over the rear wing in order to stall the flap, thus reducing drag when doing straights), as well as a few grumbles about the sharp corners on the recently renovated circuit. Video's after the break, and be sure to crank up your speakers for maximum sensation.%Gallery-97407%
F1 boss Ecclestone says no high definition feed until 2012
Bad news for Formula One fans worldwide, as Bernie Ecclestone told the media we will likely have to wait until 2012 to get a glimpse of the racing series in high definition. Trailing every other autosport federation we can think of, and nearly every sport in existence, F1 spent the weekend during the Canadian GP testing HD and even 3D cameras and feeds, but according to Ecclestone there aren't enough viewers that want it. Andrew Barratt, vice president of F1 sponsor LG backed Ecclestone's assertions, calling F1 "the most technical sport in the world to shoot" and saying the differences in the varied locales make it tough to get right, in his comments to Autosport. From our perspective, it was shocking when we couldn't watch the US GP in F1 in 2007, that it could take five more years to make the jump is nothing short of ridiculous.
BBC won't air Formula 1 in HD this season
So, here's the good news. Auntie Beeb will be covering the 2009 season of Formula 1 racing. The bad news? It won't be in HD, at least not at launch. According to a reply by Roger Mosey, the director of BBC Sport, the network will not be making F1 racing available in high-def, though he does confess to "wanting to." Yeah, we'd love to say his "I'll keep you posted" remark gives us overwhelming hope, but sadly, we can't. Prove us wrong, BBC -- we dare you.[Image courtesy of TheSun, via Digital Spy]
Aigo "revs up" Formula One-themed PMP with 720p output
Unlike certain other Chinese devices, the Aigo Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP5 personal media player is actually a working, fully-featured PMP with support for FM radio, eBooks, and an adequate variety of audio and video formats -- it even outputs 720p content, though its own display is limited to 480 x 272. While Aigo's sponsorship of the McLaren Mercedes Formula One car is this thing's excuse for existence, it's technically also under the company's Patriot name (it's called the Patriot MP5-MK3510) but we're guessing the F1 theme will be more attractive to the Y chromosome than Winnie the Pooh. [Via PMP Today]
Formula 1 superstar finishes first in race to nab BlackBerry Storm
There are, shall we say, certain "advantages" to driving a race car sponsored by global wireless behemoth Vodafone. Fame, fortune, and a free account (seriously, all the minutes and kilobytes you can eat!) definitely rank high on that list, but it all pales in comparison to this. It seems that Formula 1 wizard Lewis Hamilton has been gifted with a Voda-branded Storm, a great publicity play for the carrier -- particularly as he's sitting in front of a camera describing how "wicked" it is. Clearly, the video is little more than a PR stunt, but the phone genuinely seems to be his, and at least we can get a clear look at how fast, fluid, and pretty the interface appears to be. So, anyone know where he leaves that thing when he's out racing? Check the full action after the break.
Several Niche Sequels Confirmed; skate, F1 Racing
Well, they don't appeal to everyone under the sun, but there are those out there that care about 'em, so here we go with the niche sequels. EA obviously got wind of Tony's passing, and has now announced that they have a sequel to skate in the works, but haven't given any other details than that. Seems they felt the need to acknowledge the death of their rival in some small way.The second game marks the return of the Formula 1 Racing franchise, with Codemasters using their expierience on DiRT and Race Driver: GRID to bring out an F1 game based on the 2009 season. Read, skate 2Read, Formula 1 Racing
F1 Ferrari phone is red, lacks speed and grace
This prancing red handset brings a dash of faux-Ferrari styling to the dreamers amongst us. This Chinese made phone features the typical touchscreen found on Chinese sets, dual-band GSM, 1.3 megapixel shooter, memory card expansion -- we're not sure on the type -- all packaged in a shifty looking red car housing. The handset also comes pre-installed with three games,Jet Plane, Intelligent Puzzle, and Hand & Boot Dance -- yeah, where is the racing game? Price is set at $190 though we suspect this novelty phone won't have the tifosi yammering and cheering like they did for their F1 hero, Michael.
Spyker rolls out three handsets and joins cellphone biz
Spyker, Dutch maker of fine performance wheels -- and owners of one of Formula 1's newest teams -- has rolled out a line of branded handsets. The -- pictured from top left -- C8 Spyder ($560), C8 Laviolette ($425), and C8 Laturbie($285) should help Spyker keep up with the Joneses in the automaker as cell phone manufacturer world. The Spyder and Laviolette are both dual band 900 / 1800 MHz jobbies with mostly unremarkable features like 1.3 megapixel cameras, 128 x 160 TFT screens, finished in black and silver. The Laturbie brings some tri-band action, a QVGA screen, same 1.3 megapixel cam, and gets dressed in glossy red. Interesting note is the keypads all seem to sport Chinese characters, so it doesn't take many guesses to figure out where they're bound.[Via Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 13
Note: This week's edition was delayed due to problematic video encoding.PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. Grand Theft Auto IV [360, PS3]Download MP4 (5.93MB) | Download JPG The following videos are featured after the break: 28 Weeks Later, Formula 1 [PS3], The Reaping, Super Rub-a-Dub [PS3].
Japanese release day highlights: 12.28.06
Takuma Sato is arguably the world's most interesting Formula 1 driver. He has moves that occasionally serve to make one of the most predictable motorsports slightly less predictable. So that's who we picked for a quick spin around Monaco on our PS3 this afternoon. Sato's race was typically bathetic, dropping from a place among the points to a spectacularly silly retirement with one bizarre maneuver in the tunnel on the last lap. (It wasn't our fault.)Based on our initial 23-minute playtest, these are the Good Things about PS3 Formula 1 Championship Edition: Really wet rain Feels like an arcade game Features the Van Halen-tastic Japanese F1 theme tune And these are the Bad Things about PS3 Formula 1 Championship Edition: No multiplayer Feels like an arcade game Features the Van Halen-tastic Japanese F1 theme tune Oh, and Dragon Quest Monsters (DS) was also released in Japan today. But we didn't buy it because we're still too Dragon Quested out after DQVIII.
