CIO Straight Talk - Issue 10 - 38

and several microphones. Along with the sensors
recording the boats' performance, these will
generate a telemetry packet with more than 150
variables coming from each boat every ten seconds.
We'll be downloading roughly 100 terabytes of
video and other content from the boats during each
leg of the race, while they are at sea, and as much
as 1.5 petabytes when they're in port. And that's
just the data from the boats; our models and other
content generate another 12 to 14 petabytes.

"ThE ChALLENGES DoN'T oNLy
TEST huMAN ENDuRANCE.
ThE EVENT ALSo PuShES ThE
BouNDARiES oF TEChNoLoGy."

But this cascade of data brings with it
significant technical challenges. For one thing,
the race takes place in an incredibly harsh
technology environment. It's not just extremes
of temperature, humidity, and water pressure,
but also G-forces, salt, and vibrations-when
these boats are catching the wind, the vibrations
on board are incredible. We work with worldclass partners to make sure both the on-board
hardware and the satellite network are as robust
and resilient as possible.
Another unique requirement is the fact that the
race's rules prohibit crew members from having
any direct connectivity with the outside world.
That's because a well-funded team could use
a robust computer model to guide the crew
through the course.
So we have what is essentially a black box-a
fiber network-between each boat and Race
Control. Race officials monitor all content going
to or from the boat to make sure that no one has
access to information they shouldn't have.

38

Beyond that, we've required that all boats carry the
same amount of computer processing hardware.
We don't want crews to be building their own big
data centers. We want them to have the same tools
in making their navigational choices.
The idea of the race is to challenge the crews'
skills, decision-making, and risk taking. We give
every team the same weather information as well
as updates every six hours on how everyone is
doing, but nothing more.

nexT-gen
STORYTeLLIng
With this year's race, we're taking our digital
narratives to the next level. It's not just about the
technology we have on board-although we are
bringing on a host of cutting edge tools. We are
trying to get more value of out the human aspect
of story telling as well.
Besides our battery of on-board fixed and
wireless cameras, we are continuing to use onboard reporters-we've expanded the team so
that no one burns out-to capture and write the
stories of the race.
In addition, each boat will also have two drones
that can follow the boat, based on the GPS
position. The vessels are in the middle of the
ocean 90 percent of the time, far beyond the
range of helicopters, and this will enable us for
the first time to capture footage from the air-if
we can manage the delicate task of landing the
drones on a boat travelling at an average speed
of 27 knots.
Our dream is to beam out live pictures from the
middle of the Southern Ocean for the very first
time-from drone to boat to satellite to Race
Control and out to the world.
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 10

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CIO Straight Talk - Issue 10
