EMC will use big data to establish scientific reasons why motorcycle racer John McGuiness is consistently faster than the average motorbike competitor.
The initiative was outlined this week at EMC World 2015, in Las Vegas.
McGuinness has won the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) motorcycle race 21 times since 1996. The Isle of Man TT is a 59.5km mountain road course around the island, with more than 200 turns. During the race, riders reach speeds of more than 300km per hour.
McGuinness, nicknamed Morecambe Missile, has never known exactly why he is so fast and has always attributed it to "raw talent". "What happens to my body at these speeds? My brain? My reactions? Where any mistake could be my last," ponders McGuinness.
The Isle of Man TT has claimed the lives of 200 competitors since its inception in 1910. In 2014, two riders were killed within the first two days of the 10-day race. Data that could give insights into what makes someone go fast and what reactions are needed to ensure safety would be hugely valuable to racers.
EMC fitted McGuinness' suit and bike with sensors and data acquisition units to capture an array of performance, biometric and mechanical data on a Spanish test circuit last month. A set of "control data" was also captured from another racer, Adam Child. All the data was collected using EMC's Business Data Lake. The data will paint a live picture of what the rider-bike combination are doing at any point in time on the track.
"We have collected a highly dimensional dataset from disparate data sources," explains Michael Foley, director of EMC's Marketing Science Lab. "Using the most advanced analytics hardware and software, we can model John's ride and uncover secrets that will help him win his 22nd Isle of Man title."
EMC shared one of the initial insights gleaned from comparing the riders' heart rates during key corners. "During two of the more-perilous turns, the control rider's breaking and handling becomes more erratic as his heart rate jumps, suggesting anxiety significantly impacts a rider's performance."
Bike sensor, biometric and GPS input data was collected. Bike information came from the engine, transmission, throttle, accelerometer and gyroscope. Biometric data included the rider's heart rate and calories burned. Three different GPS readings were used to maximise accuracy.
The data collected within the data lake is freely available for outside data experts to analyse and interpret via CrowdANALYTIX, a crowdfunded analytics service.
There is a big data analysis and visualisation competition on CrowdANALYTIX to see if the data science community can uncover the secret to McGuinness' success.
The data analysis competition is available here and will close on 15 May.
(Lauren Kate Rawlins is in Las Vegas courtesy of EMC.)
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