RB virtual lap of Indian GP and Lucas Di Grassi eye level helmet cam

[DBT85]

A virtual lap of the RB cars around India. Looks like there could be a lot of time won and lost in that 215 degree turn 10. Also interesting to see that the car spinning out is Webber lol. Shame it's not Vettels actual choice of words though, he is so reading from a script

And a video of Lucas Di grassi with an eye level helmet cam around Barcelona

Would really love to see that eye level camera appear in F1.

 

[DBT85]

Are there any pics of the eye level camera? I know they tried it on DC but it was a bit to low. That looks to be to the side. It would need to be tiny to be used in a race.

Not seen any but I'm sure some will surface. That video was only uploaded 3 days ago.

There should be no problem making a very small camera in a casing small enough to fit to the helmet so as not to compromise safety. Bear in mind that the image sensor in your phone is just a few millimetres across and is probably around 6-8 megapixels. A 720 sensor would only be 1megapixel so would be even smaller. Since they only broadcast in 720 there would be no need for a higher res camera. Obviously the image wouldn't be as good as the larger cameras in the car but then it wouldn't need to be.

It would also help the stewards see things from the drivers viewpoint much better than the other available cameras.

 

[DBT85]

Yeah, its very obvious when he's looking in his mirrors.

I still think they would struggle to package batteries and a reciever into the helmet though. It would need to be plugged in to the car. It's only going to end up on a car as a technical show piece, likely with some sponsor tie up with the maker.

They wouldn't need to package any batteries into it though since the helmets already have a jack to connect up to the car for the drivers radio. There is no reason power and the video feed couldn't be incorporated into the same cable and the feed be transmitted using the same transmitter that the current car cams use. Literally the only thing that would be on the helmet would be the lens and the sensor. Everything else would be done in the same box that deals with the current cameras.

 

[DBT85]

Until we see a pic of the helmet we don't know though. My suggestions were one option. It's possible that the camera they used was already doing everything you said it would need.

Though it only showed doing an install lap so if it does have a battery then it wouldnt have needed to be particularly large. And it would only need to transit data a few feet to the proper transmitter in the car.

 

[DBT85]

Wouldn't be able to use this particular helmet cam as it blocks the vision of one eye as lucas Di Grassi says himself in the description.

I've just tweeted to di grassi to see if any photos were taken of the helmet and if he actually had to drive with one eye covered.

Just seems to me that mounting it in the helmet in front of the drivers eye would actually be more difficult and dangerous that just using one stuck with a sucker to the side of the helmet.