Jaguar clones drivers for 2004 racer!

In the run-up to the British Grand Prix, Jaguar today announced that they will use virtual reality mannequins of drivers' Mark Webber and Antonio Pizzonia to help design their 2004 machine - the first time technology of this nature has been used to shape a Formula One car.

With Jaguar Racing now sitting sixth in the Constructor's Championship (one point behind BAR-Honda), the company have taken onboard a human modelling and simulation software solution currently being used by Jaguar Cars.

The advanced simulating system will create exact replicas of Webber and Pizzonia - including their height, length of their arms, width of their legs and the reach of their finger-tips - then the virtual-reality drivers will be placed inside a digital cock-pit, while still in a preliminary design stage.

Jaguar's designers can then evaluate whether the seat, steering wheel, arm rest and gears are in the best location for each driver, while ensuring that Webber and Pizzonia have the best possible positioning and posture to operate the race car - so that the gears change is just a touch, the steering wheel positioning is perfect and the accelerator is an extension of their foot.

Blind spots will also be reduced by determining what the drivers can and cannot see - without them even being there. Such assessments will find the most comfortable position for the driver, which will improve his performance, reduce fatigue and give him the edge in a sport where a 1/10th second is an advantage. The objective is to make the driver and car work as 'one'.

Meanwhile, the Occupant Packaging Toolkit of 'JACK' should allow an accurate assessment of the pairs 'driver's view-point'. The designers can then easily discover what the tyres, body wing panels and mirrors are obstructing - all without building a car first.

JACK is also being used in the design of the engine, so the 'all-important' access and reach by the mechanics in the pit-stop can be evaluated first in a digital environment, enabling the fastest repairs possible on the Grand Prix circuit.

New mechanics can also be trained on 'JACK' simulations too, enabling them a pure understanding of the car before their feet hit the tarmac.

The software will also enable Jaguar Racing to make early checks on the design of the whole car in virtual-reality, saving a considerable amount of money on costly mock-ups or prototypes and allowing them to plough the money into other essential areas.