UK-based motorsport telemetry developer Control has opened a North American office in Davidson, North Carolina.
Founded in 2016, Control uses cellular technology in its TLM-P1 system which incorporates three modems to provide high-coverage vehicle telemetry. The system’s claimed USP is that via algorithms developed in-house, it is able to automatically switch between cellular networks in real time.
As Richard Hull, who is heading up the North Carolina operation, explained to PMW, “We have data roaming profiles with the different networks, so we can connect any of those modems to different network suppliers at the same time. For example, at Daytona, we use AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile over the course of a lap, in order to get 100% circuit coverage.”
The advantage of leveraging cellular networks is that much of the traditional paraphernalia required to achieve telemetry coverage at longer tracks – such as repeater stations – is not needed. Impressively, even at circuits such as the Nordschleife, 99.1% coverage is claimed. “We had 20 cars at the N24 this year and they were all getting that level of coverage. At Le Mans, we can achieve 100% coverage,” noted Hull. The ability to jump between networks also helps to counter issues such as interference from broadcast communication and other systems that are in place at high-profile race events.
The system is designed to be integrated with most common data acquisition systems. “We’re datalogger agnostic and can work with Bosch, Cosworth, Motec, no problem,” highlighted Hull. It can also deal with a wide range of baud rates, from the traditional RS232-based systems up to the higher rates generated by more advanced ethernet-based systems.
The North American office will serve teams in series such as IMSA and the GT World Challenge, and Hull said the company is also in discussions with other USA-based series.
