FEA in Formula 1 - stress and load mesh modelling at its very best.
The Open University offers distance learning for undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. To support courses, a number of educational resources are made available for free via Apple's iTunesU mobile learning solution. This month an engineering and technology podcast relating to Formula 1 has become available.
The course in question is the catchily titled T884 - An Introduction to Finite Element Analysis which relates to a computational modelling and analysis technique known as Finite Element Analysis, or FEA to its friends. FEA is used by F1 teams in a number of design areas in order to optimise the performance of various elements of a racing car, thus the OU descended on the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes to help explain how these techniques enable them to reach the front of the grid.
Whilst this iTunesU content is primarily offered as supplemental learning material, the course does amount to 17 videos. Included is insight from Lewis Butler who's the senior structural analyst for the team and who offers a detailed look into how a part such as a wheel hub might first be modelled virtually, in order to predict weaknesses or suggest improvements in the design before manufacture.
Much of the footage appears to have been filmed in the teams factory, and a real chassis is used to demonstrate the finer points of the talk, although the sight of Michelin tyres belies its true age. The short video's are provided in both low and high resolution format, and are backed up by PDF transcripts.
I will admit to being considerably out of my depth 10 minutes into the course, but you will get some fantastic insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a Formula 1 team, and you likely won't be so quick to judge a team the next time a loose wheel comes flying from its hub in Hungary.
Computer Aided Design at this level is an incredibly complex subject to cover, but the series is well produced and presented. That a Formula 1 team can see the benefit in putting effort into such a programme speaks volumes and Red Bull should be congratulated for making a largely inaccessible topic more available.
If you haven't taken a look at iTunesU before, it's a recommended destination, and there's no place better to start than the free Finite Element Analysis course from Red Bull and the Open University.
F1 Minute is a weekday audio show hosted by Christine, which covers all the Formula 1 news in a handy 60 second round-up. The show has been running for more than two years in its current format, and as an experiment we're now looking into how this might translate to video.
Although the content will ultimately be hosted on the F1 Minute website, we're including this concept show on Sidepodcast in order solicit a wider variety of feedback. Please do get it touch and let us know if you like the idea, or if there are things that need improving.
In this episode, Christine takes a look at Kubica's plans for 2010 as well as the new look Jenson Button. This show was originally published as Kubica Set to Stay at Renault on F1 Minute.
Less than a month ago, the first F1 game for a many a year arrived for the Wii console, and Lukeh provided us with a fantastic review. So good was it, that we went out and purchased the game solely on the man's advice. Lukeh returns today to offer similar insight into a mobile version of F1 2009 for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
This year we have indeed seen the return of F1 to videogames and it was a great return as I so much explained in my previous Wii review. It came just as much as a surprise to myself as it was to many others that an announcement last week confirmed that Formula 1 was indeed coming to iPods worldwide this week. The game weighs in at £3.99 / $6.99 so it’s got a bit of price on it for an iPod app, but is it worth it?
What must be remembered is this is an iPod, not a Playstation Portable or a Nintendo DS or any fully fledged gaming handheld. Whilst the iPod is more than capable of holding its weight with it’s gaming capabilities, it’s never going to include games as detailed as the aforementioned rivals. Nevertheless, I feel that the F1 2009 game for the iPod touch / iPhone is a nifty addition to the series that Codemasters seem willing to build.
First off, the graphics genuinely opened my eyes in surprise. For something so delicate, it really shows off the possibilities of gaming for this format. From the few tracks I’ve played since purchasing the game earlier this evening, everything noticeable from real life tracks is there – the urban classic streets of Monaco, the giant overhead stand of China, the overseeing forests of Spa. It is a visual delight and a true tribute to the power of the iPod/iPhone. When you’re flying down at 200mph it runs smoothly and nothing seems to be out of place, so needless to say this aspect of the app impressed me immensely.
The controls though are where things start to get dodgy. As with most iPod racing races, you use the system’s accelerometer to steer the car with various buttons on screen to accelerate, brake, change camera and use KERS. The initial impressions of the controls came to me with must frustration – the default steering sensitivity is, for lack of a better term, wild. You know how when Formula 1 cars warm up tyres they swing from left to right? That’ll be you initially upon first play. From my own point of view, I would suggest jumping into the options and turning the setting down a little, as it makes the driving a whole lot more tolerable. Furthermore, the default control system both acceleration and brake pedals on the right of the screen, and KERS button on the left. (Obviously it can be adjusted for left hand players.) Whilst others may find this alright, it felt very clumsy to me going to accelerate but finding myself braking instead – luckily an alternative setup of acceleration on the right and brakes on the left can be found in the options, an option I found immediately handier to use. Again, it’s just a personal thing so it may be different for you. In general though, it handles as you’d expect albeit it completely insanely at times, but it’s nothing deal breaking. Just very, very tough.
With 17 tracks and 20 cars you’re not exactly lacking variety
So what will you be getting in terms of content for your £4 or $7? Well I’d better give you a warning now – there is no racing as in 20 cars on a grid racing. The two game modes include Time Trials and Endurance, both seeing you racing in any car of your choice on any track of your choice. Time Trials does what it says on the tin, with your goal simply to set times and see which is fastest. Endurance sees you going out for laps and continually trying to beat them with consistency being the name of the game rather than the more general time trial mode. To be fair, with 17 tracks and 20 cars you’re not exactly lacking variety so there are no complaints there but I’m sure many will have wanted racing. It’s perfectly understandable though why it’s not there though. Your times can also be uploaded to Agon Online, a built in system that uploads your best times and shares them with the world as well as allowing you to browse yourself and view friends’ times.
So, should you buy it? Of course that is not my decision for me to make for you but in my advice I would only buy it if you really want an F1 game on your iPod / iPhone. Visually it is incredible, rivalling what we see on the Wii version of F1 2009 but it is very, very tough with the oversensitive handling and quite unique way of handling the game. Again, it’s what’s to be expected of the iPod and it is impressive considering what small weight the system has but, at £4 / $7, it’s probably recommended for the more advanced players of the system. It’s definitely a promising start though for future installments, just don't expect an easy ride with this app!
Codemasters have managed to sneak a mobile version of their 2009 Wii game into the crowded Apple iPhone marketplace, just in time for Christmas. There was almost no hype, nor expectation surrounding this release, so retailing at £3.99 in the UK, how does it stack up to it's bigger Wii cousin?
I won't even try to pretend that I'm any kind of game reviewer, nor that my abilities on the virtual track are anything to write home about. Lukeh has already promised us a comprehensive review to follow up his popular Wii coverage, so this thread is all about discovering the game as it unfolds before our eyes. A number of people are already downloading the game and this seems like a good place to track our initial findings.
Updated: The game features 10 teams, 20 drivers and 17 circuits from the 2009 Formula 1 championship. These are exactly the same as those found in the Wii version of the game, so you'll find Bourdais, but not Badoer. The biggest drawback is the lack of competitive action, with only Time Trial or Endurance runs available. The first is self explanatory, the latter rewards consistency.
Updated: The gameplay itself is really tough. The steering is hyper sensitive and reaching for the KERS button is a stretch unless you're on a long straight. The action is smooth though, and you can't fault the attention to graphical detail. We paid £30+ for the Wii version of this game, and although that does offer a multiplayer capability, this iPhone version seems much better value for money. Time will tell which edition stands the test of time, and if either stack up to the promise of the PS3 or 360 versions.
Updated: If you need further convincing, Lukeh's full review can be found here.
We've already mentioned this week how agreeable we find online magazines over their paper counterparts. Any chance we get, we'll plug GP+. See? However, it seems the teams are also starting to find the beauty in online publishing.
Earlier in the year, Toyota started up an online magazine called Push to coincide with the release of the new car and the start of the season. At the time, I thought it would be a one-off, something to go with their movie-style online launch, but I have been proved wrong.
Issue 4 recently came out, and is packed full of interesting insight. Interviews with team members, previews of the final few upcoming races - particularly Abu Dhabi, plus a rather good look at the drivers seat and how it keeps him safe. The magazine is available as an online read - one of those fancy page turning things - or as a pdf download, and best of all, it's absolutely free.
As I was checking the links for this post, I also discovered the new Push blog from Toyota, started at the very end of September. It looks packed with videos, photos and snippets of life in the paddock, and very refreshingly states from the outset that they won't be talking performance or politics. The mission statement says:
Our blog authors – all long-term team members travelling to the race tracks around the world – will share moments of the team’s life and deliver behind-the-scenes-stories explaining what Formula 1 is all about. Jarno, Timo and Kamui will be invited to open the book of their lives as Formula 1 drivers as well.
That is pretty much all we want as fans, so I salute Toyota for attempting to reach out and connect with us. The blog is a great addition to the Push brand, as my main complaint about the magazine was its infrequency. Four issues a year is tricky to promote. Although it isn't news based, and doesn't necessarily need to be timely, it's easy to forget the magazine exists between issues. The blog seems to be updated on a more regular basis.
That's my only real complaint though. The magazine has great info, the blog seems to be shaping up nicely, and it also adds positive vibes towards the team's future. I'd love to hear what you think, though, of the magazine, the concept, and of course, the blog. Let's hope for a good reaction, as it could give the team a push.
If you caught the latest episode of An Aside with Joe, you likely would have heard Joe talk about GrandPrix+ magazine reaching the milestone of its 50th released issue. We thought we'd mark the occasion with a quick plug for the original F1 e-magazine.
If you ever spend anytime in the Sidepodcast comments, you'll know we like to plug things, be it blogs, podcasts, published books or certain brands of energy drink. GP+ deserves a very special plug from us though, for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, as we have detailed many times in the past, we're not exactly fans of regular paper-based publishing, and GP+ offers everything that print cannot - instantaneous worldwide delivery, portability, indexable content and it gets released a few hours after a race is complete. One day all magazines will be delivered like this.
Additionally though, we like to plug Joe's work because he has given so much of his time to the Aside series this year.
Any sensible professional journalist would insist on being paid handsomely for the effort that goes into recording podcasts from all corners of the world - including manually rewiring the hotel's Internet access in Spain, jumping through firewall hoops in China and getting up at all hours to speak from Malaysia.
If you've enjoyed listening to any of the podcasts, like the idea of being a forerunner in the rapidly changing world of media publishing, or frankly just like to learn about Formula One faster than anyone else, go subscribe to Grand Prix+ magazine now. There may only be three races remaining this year, but you'll grab yourself all 50 back issues in the process. It's only £25 GBP and it would mean a lot to us if you did.
As a quick reminder, below are links to all of the Aside shows recorded thus far - 13 in total. Both Amy and Rachel have been doing a fabulous job of transcribing these recordings, so we've added links to the PDF files too. Just like issues of GP+, text transcripts can be downloaded and searched from your computer should the need ever arise. We are eternally grateful for the efforts put in by anyone in the community who help lighten the transcription workload, and help make the podcasts even more useful.
Whilst Mr C continues to stick by the somewhat flaky Official F1 App, Bassano Clapper has undertaken some investigative reporting into the other motorsport related iPhone/iPod apps. Non-Apple fans look away now, please.
Whilst Bernie doesn't seem to be embracing 21st Century technology for F1, some of us are trying to. The iPhone is a perfect conduit for F1 related info and we were given an Official F1 App this summer. This doesn't come cheap in a store of free and inexpensive timekillers but there are alternatives out there. If you're willing to experiment a little, there are a few gems - as well as a few that are not so polished. I've tried a few of the free F1 apps and these are my thoughts.
F1 2009 - Go Go Go! Lite was the first to reach my device and I was initially impressed. At my fingertips were news articles, championship standings, an F1 calendar as well as team and driver profiles. Once these were browsed I soon figured out what I most wanted from a free F1 app: convenient, up-to-date, F1 related news. This is where Go Go Go! let itself down. All the stories came from one source (gpupdate.net) and sometimes there would be many days without a single update. There's the option to upgrade to the enhanced, paid edition of this app but on this demonstration, I felt no compulsion to try the full version out, even for small price of £1.19.
Formula 1 Live Racing was next on my list. Quite similar in style to the previous app, this ad-supported offering included basic circuit profiles but had the additional bonus of a gallery of some nice, full-screen photos. I had hoped these would be updated as the calendar rolled on, but sadly this was not the case. It promised in-race updates which I never tried because it wasn't on my handset long enough. Nothing terrible here, just not particularly noteworthy.
Verdict: A firm average Formula 1 Live Racing:Download
Eurosport is an eponymous app from the sports channel that has a decent background in Motorsport. Whilst it is not as comprehensive as some of it's rivals, it is executed well. It has regular, bitesized news updates, practice, qualifying & race results as well championship standings. The live lap-by-lap updates are a handy substitute if you can't see the action first hand. However, the biggest selling point of this freebie is probably the fact that F1 is only a small portion of its abilities. It covers MotoGP, World Rally and Touring Cars as well as a handful of other non-petrolhead sports. (They really exist?) The home screen can be customised with any 4 shortcuts to your chosen sporting field as well as an "All Sports" news reel. Verdict: A big thumbs up for this one which has stayed on my handset since it landed
F1 Insider is the final, as well as, my most-clicked F1 app. Simplicity works here, large full screen displays that scroll rather than squeeze in too much info. Countdowns to all the practice and qualifying sessions for the year, as well as the races themselves. It's best redeeming feature is the news feed. This is user defined by allowing you to select (and more importantly, de-select) where you receive your news from. Nine popular F1 News sites are listed; including AUTOSPORT, GrandPrix.com and the BBC F1 pages. Being able to ignore the sites that shall not be mentioned is a nice touch. This feature is essentially a pretty RSS reader that gives you the pages of some of your favourite sites in an iPhone configured page. However, this is the app that I like the most and chose to fork out some hard earned cash (well, just over a pound) for the feature added, paid edition. For £1.19 you also get live qualifying and race updates and a nice feature that let's you tag your favourite driver and team which highlights them in the points haul (for better or worse!). This app does pretty much everything that the others do, but is presented well, has regular, plentiful news updates and for me - it passes the finish line in first place.
Verdict: Passes the finish line in first place F1 Insider:Download
That covers some of the best and worst that the AppStore has to offer, but don't forget to give us your F1 App recommendations, we're always keen to try out more.
A very, very long time ago, eons ago in fact, we introduced the idea of 'free F1 content for your website'. Essentially this was an embeddable audio player containing news in the form of F1 Minute. That generic player has done remarkably well for us, and we have seen it appear in the most unexpected of places and there have been many more downloads of the daily minute as result. Now we're taking the concept to the next level.
Much as we did with Sidepodcast's Partner TV Player, we're offering a branded version, tailored with a custom image and audio introduction, to anyone who's interested in including it on their site. For the past month or so we've been trialling the idea in two places - Pitlane Fanatic and Racing Bulls. If you haven't already seen them in action we recommend you go check them out now, but here's a heads-up for the uninitiated.
Pitlane Fanatic
Jackie and Jolly from Pitlane Fanatic were on the show a couple of days ago, and you might've got the impression Jolly is something of a fan of Christine's daily minute. We're just as big fans of them too though, and we love the look and feel of the site. The F1 Minute player fits snugly into the silver design.
Ian from Racing Bulls is a familiar name around these parts and for the second time he signed up to be our beta tester. The branded F1 Minute player is situated above the ever popular message board and just like the previous example contains a custom logo and audio introduction.
If you're interested in partnering with F1 Minute, please either email Christine or let us know in the comments. The audio is updated every weekday during the off-season and seven days a week once the racing gets underway. It's free to use, easy to install on most sites (we can help if you're struggling), and now you can integrate and brand it as your own. What's not to like?
Way back in August of last year, we announced plans to make every Sidepodcast show available for download via peer-to-peer networks. At first we started slowly to ensure it was a viable and effective means of distribution and then as we've grown more confident with the tools, we've integrated them better into our work flow.
Each time we upload a new show nowadays, we'll release a corresponding torrent file at the same time. Additionally, after much effort on Christine's part, we've also managed to make the entire back catalogue distributable via P2P too.
Synchronicity I
One of the suggestions we received from Alex after originally announcing plans to support file sharing, was to provide a subscription feed for shows available in Torrent format.
This gave us headaches for a while, but we've now found a way to sync the Torrent feed with the traditional podcast feed, meaning subscribers will now be able to receive the latest show via P2P at the same time as iTunes users download directly.
Torrents are becoming a key part of our distribution solution, and if you've never tried subscribing in this way before, we highly recommend giving Miro a try.
The software runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. It can be downloaded for free and our podcasts sync and play seamlessly. We originally promoted the software back in 2007, but that was before Scott informed us it doubles as a peer-to-peer client too.
Synchronicity II
One thing we can do with torrents that we're constrained by within the Apple / iTunes ecosystem, is put out larger video files. Currently iPods are limited to a 640x480 pixel screen resolution and if we want people to be able to watch videos on the move, we can't go any larger.
No such restraint exists with desktop software though, so if you subscribe to the Sidepodcast Torrent Feed you'll be able to grab the 2008 Season Review in 720x405 pixel resolution. Bigger than you'll get on this site, or on iTunes.
As ever, do let us know if there are other delivery formats we should be considering. Falcon let us know this week that we're sort of accessible via a TiVo box in the US, even though we've never seen one before, nor have any access to one.
There's bound to be other formats and platforms we've yet to come across and we're always keen to throw more into the mix.
Don’t panic! This is still Sidepodcast. F1 Minute hasn’t taken over the world. Yet.
This is a one off special, because there are some serious circumstances that need urgent attention. We have been nominated for the 2008 Weblog Awards in two categories, and I’m here to ask for your votes.
Yes, this may be a shameless plug of a show – 60 seconds devoted entirely to pleading for you to take time out of your day to vote for us – but what is it they say? A vote for us is a vote for you.
That’s true, in fact, as one of the categories we are a finalist in is Best Online Community. That’s every single one of you that makes up the Sidepodcast Audience, particularly anyone who has commented on the site. You guys make Sidepodcast what it is.
Our other nomination is in Best Podcast. They are both very tough categories so every click counts. You can vote once every 24 hours, and all the information you need is on Sidepodcast.com.
That’s all. Thanks for listening, and I’ll go back to the actual F1 Minute now.
