BigTime's Jeremiah Burton is back with a new episode of the special docuseries Coding the Chaos on Formula E. In the latest episode, Burton, along with several Formula E drivers and race engineers, explains how drivers receive audio cues during a race that tell them when to accelerate, when to lift off the throttle, and when to recharge the batteries through regeneration. The all-electric racing series continues to make an impact on the global stage while showcasing the technology behind the sport.
Exploring Audio Cues in Formula E
The Coding the Chaos episode explores the audio cues used by Formula E drivers during a race. Formula E shared a teaser for the latest episode on Instagram with the caption: "Formula E drivers have audio cues in their ears telling them exactly when to lift off the throttle. At race speed. Episode 4 of Coding the Chaos is out now. #FormulaE #CodingTheChaos."
Jeremiah Burton of BigTime says in the video: "Because Formula E engineers can't monitor all that live data during a race, they want to equip their driver with the best energy strategy possible. And one way to help them execute that is with a system called beeps and bops."
Insights from Race Engineers
Giving further insight into the concept, a race engineer explains: "The drivers actually have an acoustic cue in their radio earpieces to let them know when they should be lifting on the straights to maximise the energy strategy they've already determined."
Envision Racing driver Sébastien Buemi demonstrates how it works. He says: "In every section, we basically get LEDs on the display, we get beeps in our ears to know exactly when we need to come off the throttle, when we need to charge the batteries or do the regen." Another engineer adds: "All these beeps and bops are telling the driver what to do in the car to achieve the perfect lap time while using the least amount of energy possible."
Real-World Analogy
Another engineer explains with an example: "When you're driving your electric car at home and you're trying to lift off the throttle so that you arrive at the red light without having to use any of the hydraulic brakes, right? It's like having a beep in your ear that goes off and tells you, 'If I lift at this point, I'm definitely going to stop right at the red light. I won't go too far. I won't stop too short.' And that's really what it is."
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