A new suite of technologies aims to teach you how to brake, accelerate, and steer to become a better driver lap after lap.
CarBuzz has discovered a remarkable new patent from Ferrari that has been published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, detailing how the maker of Italian exotics intends to make its supercars take the place of human driving instructors.
Ferrari explains that performance vehicles are rarely used to their full capacity. When an owner finally has the opportunity to go on the track, they are accustomed to driving on the street, where completely different rules about braking and acceleration, among other things, apply.
At the moment, driver aids include shift lights, intrusive electronic safety systems, head-up displays, and human driving instructors. But Ferrari thinks that all of these can be distracting in some way, and a solution must be presented. Ferrari's idea is particularly special because it can benefit all skill levels. Yes, even you, frantically formulating your comment about how old analog cars were so much better in every way. Keep an open mind and check this out.
Ferrari knows that whether we're talking about shift lights on a steering wheel/in a cluster or a head-up display sited just above the dashboard, these aids require one to look away from the racing line. One of the most difficult habits for drivers to unlearn is that of looking at the speedometer or the road directly ahead of you. You must drive by feel, not sight.
Looking much further down better prepares a driver for what is next required of them, but currently, the only aid that allows one to do so is a physical driving instructor, adding weight and compromising handling in relation to when the learner is going on track alone.
A driving instructor can also be distracting, and the best teacher is always more seat time. A student will learn faster and retain lessons better if they are educated at their own pace.
The solution? Visual and haptic aids indicating what a driver should do, integrated in a cost-effective manner that keeps the driver's eyes where they belong: aimed at the next hundred yards.
Ferrari proposes integrating LED lights along the bottom, and/or top, and/or sides (A pillars) of the windscreen. Other components required include some form of tracking device, be that a short-range system like radio, a long-range system like GPS, a laser-tracking system like LiDAR, or an optical device like a camera. The patent also needs a device that can detect the spatial orientation of the vehicle, i.e., a gyroscope or an electronic three-axis compass. Using advanced driver assistance systems or a database (of popular racetracks, for example), the car would identify an optimal trajectory for the vehicle, determining the ideal steering, braking, and throttle inputs.
These datapoints would make a driver aware that the car is approaching oversteer or understeer, whether they need to apply full throttle, and what corrections need to be made in terms of driving in each respect to go faster on the next lap.
Ferrari goes into a lot of detail, but the easiest way to explain it is to think of racing games like Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo. Therein, one can access aids that indicate the perfect racing line, when to apply full throttle, when to brake, and when you're in what Ferrari calls “a partialization zone,” where part throttle or part braking is required. Those LED lights we mentioned above? Those could be arranged to shine in segments and in different colors.
For example, at the point where maximum braking force is most efficient for a good lap time, the lights would flash red. As you need to ease off the brakes, they could start to glow yellow, and as you should apply throttle, they could transition to green, blinking in another color like blue as you hit the apex. These colors could be varied so that those with color blindness could set the system up to their needs too.
Ferrari adds that the lights could be segmented to indicate distance (brake for the next 100 yards) or time (accelerate hard for the next three seconds). With this, a driver could be prepared for what their next action will be. For example, the furthest section could change to yellow, and when you almost reach the point on the track where partial throttle is required, that yellow block would have moved to the middle section, finally reaching the top as you cross the imaginary line on the track.
Ferrari also suggests that the system could be set up to glow uniformly, where green lights would glow for as long as full throttle is required, changing to yellow the moment you need to reduce power and only flashing red for as long as full braking is required.
The patent also mentions a certain color flashing as you hit the apex to show you that you've done it right. Presumably, the reverse could be set up, too, showing a unique color when you've missed the apex.
The head-up display, although initially mentioned as a distraction, could be used to display an image of the car in relation to the road, showing you on which side of the asphalt to place the vehicle so as to be ideally prepared for the next curve.
The patent goes on to mention haptic feedback, with one or both sides of the seat and/or steering wheel vibrating to indicate that you're understeering and need to turn in left or oversteering and need to correct right. The vibrations could be set up to show that you need to turn in right or that you need to avoid straying too much to the right, or vice versa, too, helping you perfect your racing line even on gradual bends.
The color changes could be sudden or gradual, and we suspect the haptic elements could be configured similarly.
This haptic feedback could only activate in red and yellow sections of the track or when the car has the potential to spin, thereby reducing its likelihood of distraction. The vibrations and light aids could be set up in myriad ways, and the novice and the expert could quickly learn a new track and Ferrari model.
Finally, the patent suggests a resistive accelerator pedal, much like a resistive gaming console trigger, which would also help indicate that your foot is too heavy and you're going to initiate oversteer.
Ferrari has already shown promise in using haptic feedback to increase driver engagement. Systems like these could encourage buyers to explore the limits of rare supercars like the Daytona SP3 without repeatedly employing a driving instructor. With this and Ferrari's new racing-style jacks, Ferrari road cars seem destined to live out the performance dreams they were built to realize.
Cheaper than AR windscreens and likely more effective than holographic head-up displays, this tech seems ready to educate enthusiasts of all levels.
Keyword: Ferrari Will Make Drivers Better With Amazing New Tech