The protagonist stumbled precipituously and broke his diadem and his confederate came down billowing

Today, a steering wheel is a complex electronic device that allows the driver to control a vast amount of carsettings. The teams often assign one engineer that is responsible for its electronics and the design so that the drivers can use it comfortably. For that reason, today’s handles of a steering wheel are anatomically formed and made of hard rubber that provides extra grip for the driver’s hands. The main part of the wheel however is constructed, just like almost every car part, of carbon fibre to reduce its weight. The modern steering wheel can control almost 12 different parameters of the car.

1. Pit lane speed limiter
2. Differential +
3. Engine push
4. Gear upshift
5. Traction control +
6. Engine push setting switch
7. Clutch lever
8. Traction control
9. Team info inlap
10. Burn out
11. Multifunctional switch
12. Lambda 13. Diagnostic
14. Wing angle info switch
15. Clutch
16. Differential selective switch
17. Team radio
18. Traction control -
19. Gear downshift
20. Engine break
21. Differential -
22. Neutral
23. Display page change

Amongst various electronic components the ECU is the most important one , it is more like the brain of an F1 car.

The 800 bhp of a modern F1 engine is largely a result of a complex electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the many systems inside an engine so that they work to their maximum at every point around the lap.The engine control system can cut out the jumps of the throttle and keep full throttle down the straight, even on bumpy tracks. This is all possible because there is no direct link between the engine and the accelerator. The accelerator position is sensed using an actuator, and this signal is then sent to the engine control system, from where it is passed onto the engine. An engine ECU is much more than a device for making the throttle more or less sensitive. The ECU controls the inlet trumpet height, fuel injection among other things to try to get the maximum torque out of the engine. In the modern world of electronics, the ECU monitors many of the engine parameters including RPM, to control the torque output from the engine. This means that the modern day F1 accelerator acts more like a torque switch than a simple fuel input controller. F1 engines are so complex that they are designed to run in a small power band between 15000 – 18000 rpm, and the electronic monitoring and controlling of the engine parameters are crucial in keeping the engine in this working region. This working region is where torque is virtually constant, and letting the engine get below the lower limit would see a sudden drop off of torque, until the engine began to rev in the working region, where the torque would come in suddenly again, probably promoting wheelspin.

The ECU also controls the clutch, electronic differential and and the gearbox. The clutch is controlled by the driver to start the car from rest, but not during gear changes. Although the driver modulates the throttle like on a road car (although with his hand) there is no direct link to the clutch – it is all electronic. The ECU engages and disengages the clutch as the driver moves the paddle behind the steering wheel. The ECU will also depress the clutch if the car spins to stop it stalling. The FIA introduced the anti-stall device in 2000 to prevent cars stalling after a spin and being left dangerously in the middle of the track. The ECU is also responsible for changing gears in under 100 milliseconds. The electronics allow the driver to keep his foot flat on the throttle during up-shifts, and blip the throttle on down-shifts to match engine speed with transmission speed to prevent driveline snatch. The final area controlled by the ECU is the differential. Modern F1 cars have electronic differentials which monitor and control the amount of slip between the rear wheels on entry and exit of corners. This is often adjusted for different driving styles to try to keep the rear end of the car in control during all phases of a corner.

The other important use of electronics is telemetry.

An F1 car has two types of telemetry .The first is a microwave burst that is sent to the engineers every time the car passes past the pits. This data burst can contain around 4 megabytes of information giving the engineers a vital insight into the state of the car. Another 40 or so megabytes can be downloaded from the car when it returns to the pits, so no part of the car goes ‘unwatched’. The information is downloaded by plugging in a laptop computer to the car, in a socket usually located in the sidepod or near the fuel filler. The second type is a real time system which transmits smaller amounts of information, but this time it is in ‘real time’. This means the car is constantly sending out information such as its track position and simple sensor readings.

Under FIA rules, it is not possible to send electronic information to the cars. So this system is a one-way system that sends data from the cars to the boxes. Then the engineers can analyze the data in real time and, like we told, see if something is wrong or tell the driver how can he improve the way he is driving. The data is also send to Ferrari’s HQ in Maranello, where a whole team is dedicated to analyze the collected data.During a race for example, readings such as the engine temperature and hydraulic pressure are carefully examined lap by lap to ensure the car is not about to suffer any major failure. If any of one of these readings becomes varied from the normal operating state, the engineers can tell the driver to use less engine revs or drive more steadily to try to prevent a failure.Teams use software provided by their IT partners (Hewlett Packard, Compaq, TAG Electronics) that will display all of the gathered information on a screen that can be easily interpreted by the engineers. McLaren have gone a step further than most teams, developing their own system called ATLAS. Standing for Advanced Telemetry Linked Acquisition System, ATLAS displays graphs of each of the cars systems in real time at all parts of the track. Although most of the top teams have systems similar to ATLAS, it is believed that McLaren’s system is one of the most advanced in F1.

These data are generally received from the car by the use of sensors. A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. The following sensors are mounted onto an F1 car to get data from the car.

Throttle position and control sensor

A racecars throttle position sensor (TPS) is used to monitor the position of the throttle and is mounted on the throttle body. It coverts the valve position into a proportional electrical signal which is fed to the engine control unit (ECU).The sensor signal is used by the ECU to control the ignition and fuel injection timing.

Suspension movement monitoring sensor

Racecar handling depends on the balanced set up of the suspension. Whether the vehicle has the traditional four springs and four dampers arrangement, monoshocks or electronically adjustable hydraulic actuators, which are used in active suspension systems, race engineers need to measure precise suspension movement. The sensors are traditionally mounted across the dampers or connected to the rocker arm. In ‘active suspension’ systems the sensors are mounted internally within the hydraulic actuator. Data engineers monitor suspension movement during free practice, and minor adjustments are continually made to provide a competitive set up.

Gear Position and control sensor

Virtually every race car uses a sequential shift rather than the ‘H’ pattern gearbox. The reason being that sequential shift is quicker and more consistent. The selector drum is rotated manually or by an electro-hydraulic actuator. In the electo-hydaulic case, the driver operates the gear shift mechanism from the steering wheel by depressing gear change buttons. Sequential gearboxes have a gear position sensor fitted to measure the position of the selector drum. In high end professional motorsport, seamless shift gearboxes require a gear position sensor with dual signal outputs for system redundancy.

Clutch position and control sensor

Most high performance racing car clutches are automatically operated during gear changes but are manually operated by the driver from the steering wheel when moving from a standstill at race starts and pit stops. During a race the driver executes gear changes by pushing a button on the steering wheel. The on-board computer automatically cuts the engine, operates the clutch and changes gear. The clutch electro-hydraulic actuation system requires two proportional measurement sensors, one on the steering wheel and one mounted next to the clutch (the feedback sensor).

Brake caliper movement Sensor

One of the hardest working parts on a racecar is the brakes. Formula One and Endurance racing can experience high brake disc wear rates and race engineers monitor this wear by mounting a miniature linear position sensor in the callipers. The sensor measures calliper piston movement and provides engineers with the information required to calculate wear. As the rulebook controls brake disc width, hard braking circuits discs can wear as much as 50%. If the wear is excessive towards the end of the race, the driver will be advised to ease off, as the risk of exposing the cooling vanes will cause the disc shatter.

Steering angle measurement sensor

Steering-angle sensors measure steering wheel movement and are usually mounted on the steering column (rotary) or on the steering rack (linear). This steering angle information is important to race engineer’s to evaluate the vehicles steering characteristics verses chassis movement and also driver performance. The sensors are also used in electro-hydraulic power-assisted steering systems for varying the assistance given to the driver depending on the vehicles speed and cornering.

Formula One racing is perhaps the most demanding automotive application for measurement and control sensors. However, commercial automobile manufacturers have benefited from the advances made in this area, incorporating new technology into regular road vehicles. This scenario, in turn, has allowed specialist sensor manufacturers to keep investing in and increasing their range of displacement sensors based on this high-tech fly-by-wire technology-the same technology that helps keep the likes of Schumacher, Massa and Button on the track.

that they didn’t have and going beyond their means is one of the main

reasons for their situation today. In fact that is the cause for the

current economic crisis in the US.

When I see all this happening, I can only remember the good old days. Then,

karz was bad. People looked down upon those who took loans. Parents would

not give their daughter’s hand in marriage to a man with loans.

But of course, the times have changed now. Everyone I know has a loan. The

buzz word is EMI (equated monthly installment). Today, you can buy

everything on EMI – a house, a television, an i-Pod. In fact I know of

someone who just bought a fancy BMW 3 series on EMI, instead of buying a

cheaper car outright with cash. I mostly prefer to take public transport,

but then I am an old man with old thoughts!

Anyway, coming back to what caused the crisis. Imagine having Rs 2 lakh in

your bank account, no regular income, yet buying a house worth Rs 65 lakh,

in the hope of selling it for a higher price. Even if the price of the

house fell by just 5 per cent (that is Rs 3 lakh), you will go bankrupt.

This is what Lehman Brothers did; with around USD 20 billion they went and

bought assets worth over USD 600 billion. Isn’t it suicidal and simply

foolish?

I am sure things would have been different, had I been the head of Lehman

brothers. But who wants an old conservative man like me to head a complex

financial institution.

But there are a few lessons that we can learn:

1. Live a balanced life and avoid overspending.

Tip: As soon as you get your monthly salary, set aside a fixed amount,

usually 35 per cent, for insurance, savings and investments. You can then

spend the rest.

2. Not all loans are bad. Loans that are ‘need based’ (home loans,

education loans) can always find a place in your finances against those

that are largely ‘want based’ (personal loans, car loans).

3. Borrow only if repayment is financially comfortable.

A thumb rule: Keep EMIs within 30 per cent of your monthly income

In that respect, there is one American who I really respect – Warren

Buffet. He has lived in the same ordinary house for over three decades,

drives his own medium sized car and leads an extremely regular ‘middle

class’ life. If that’s all it takes for the richest person on earth to be

happy, why do all of us need to take extra stress just so that we can get

things which aren’t even essential?

India still has a lot of growth ahead and the future holds immense

opportunities for us. Let us make the most of it and save and invest it

Well here we have a lot of confusion amongst people who have reached a point to make a decision.This could be a place where we determine our future ,we might either make it or we may marr it. Some people think that they can do anything if they have an interest in it, well sounds very optimistic but unfortunately the results dont show up that much. People who just say they are interested at something dont go anywhere most of the time and the remaining who do get something out of their interest dont get to top it.

Well does it mean some are gifted and some are not ? NO.

The point is we people dont look at ourselves or to be straight forward look at our own strengths.

Let me quote an example of people who have done great things in life with just beleiving on their strengths

Michael Schumacher:

Son to a Go kart track owner , Gave up school to pursue as a racing mechanic and then on started racing and the rest is history as we all know what he did.

Sōichirō Honda

Spent his early childhood helping his father, Gihei, a blacksmith, with his bicycle repair business

Honda’s subsequent spirit of adventure and determination to explore the development of new technology had its roots in his childhood. The family was not wealthy, but Gihei Honda instilled into his children the ethic of hard work, and a love of mechanical things. Soichiro soon learned how to whet the blades of farm machinery, and how to make his own toys. A nearby rice mill was powered by a small engine, and the noise fascinated him. He would demand daily that his grandfather take him to watch it in action. At school he got the nickname ‘black nose weasel’, which is less derogatory in Japanese than it sounds in English, because his face was always dirty from helping his father in the forge.

Soichiro Honda’s childhood days are full of examples of technical ingenuity, including using a bicycle pedal rubber to forge his family’s seal on school reports that were less than promising.

The bicycles had another use: those that his father sold from the shop he subsequently opened helped Honda to hone his engineering skills. As he grew, the dream of the car on the country road acted like a magnetic force, drawing him ever closer towards things mechanical. In 1937 Honda began producing piston rings for small engines which lead to manufacturing small engines to be used in motorcycles, and then in 1948 he started producing complete motorcycles as president of the Honda Motor Company. Honda turned the company into a billion-dollar multinational that produced the best-selling motorcycles in the world.

Well the point is very clear it takes a mechanic to start a big automobile company like honda. It takes a good cook to start a hotel like Annapoorna(A famous hotel chain in south india). So look at what is that core skill of yours and put that into action. This is the answer to all confusing career decisions. Understand yourself so that you can understand your value in this world. Remember that Winners are not the ones who always got the best of everything , but the ones who did the best of everything the got.

The job that you currently hold maybe called by many people as a very meagre job , but it is only you who can do it to its best. You cannot always incline yourself to do what currently is the best work, but you rather have to strive to the best of what work and time that is given to you. And that is enough for you to make your billions.

Well let me clear the air, this is a point we as professionals always think about. Do we stick on to a company or do we keep changing our company when we want.

Well Iam pretty sure many people will say that the former is a safer option since it gives us a secure frame of mind and the latter is more of a risk.Well actually it is otherwise , my point of view is that a person who makes job shifts for the right reasons normally has more success than the ones who stick to it. For an example I dont have to go any further than my own family , my own parents are an example.

My dad and mom had a very quick and promising start to their carrers , just within one year of graduating  they were employed in a prominent bank and they thought they have settled. Well atleast they thought so. On the other side there was a guy who was more like a family friend to us who had a rather late start to his career he got his job only after 5 years since he finished his graduation. But he prominently was improving himself in the banking industry and was trying to become a Chartered Accountant.After three hard fought years he made it and since then he has shifted atleast 4 different banks and he has gone to a Grade 4 Assistant general manager and he still has another 15 years of service , so for sure he is going to retire as the Managing Director of the bank he is working. On the other hand my parents who had a  quick start to their careers beleived more of being secure inside the same bank and both ended up as Grade 2 Managers at the end of their services.

Well it really proves us one point life is not a 100 metre dash , its rather a long run and really its not the one who starts first that matters it is really the one who finishes first at the end that does matter.

The following are the pros and cons of working in the same company for more than 5 years

Disadvantages:

1.      You are taken for granted by the company.

2.      You get used to working in an environment which is unique to that company this makes you less confident for taking up new opportunities.

3.      Personal growth is hampered as there is very little new to learn after 5-7 years.

4.      You become complacent reducing your own market value.

5.      The only benefit it offers is so called “security” (And that too is imaginary)

Advantages of Moving On:

1.      You join the company satisfied with your needs ( pay and position ) and on your own terms.

2.      Work in a different environment and learn to negotiate different problems and situations.

3.      Often you get a chance to attend a new course/seminar thereby increasing your professional knowledge.

4.      You are always conscious about your performance keeping your market value intact.

The professional companies do not operate on emotions. They are least bothered about your loyalty all they want is performance. You won’t be awarded anything extraordinary for your loyalty. It is always performance that counts. If you are in a company serving for too long then the chances are you not one of the best performers because of the inevitable complacency.

Also such people presented with an opportunity of lifetime are incapable to grab it. It is impossible for these people to break their shell of “security” and grab the new opportunity. The situation is worse for the people who have worked for more than 15 years in only one company. They can’t even dream of quitting their job – it is like fish out of water.

Well then you may ask me Is there no value for loyalty and sincerity ?? of course there is but only if you are sincere and loyal to yourself and your dreams. The point is work hard for your dreams and work smart when you work for another man’s dream.