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The mission - to take computer literac... BT Tech's pick of the high riders in SA... Get in on the race without getting even ... Brave the underground with a joystic... Cellphones the key to a whole new shoppi... Entrepreneur brothers get a Silicon lif... The facts depend on where you are coming... Intelligent agents emerge from ... SA group first through the library door...
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Get in on the race without getting even a finger wet
GREG GORDON looks at the sophisticated instruments available to the modern sailor
IN HEAVY weather, one imagines ocean-going yacht skippers lashing things to the deck and fighting the tiller to keep the vessel upright. In reality, they will probably be poised over their laptop computers, just part of a sophisticated array of technology they use to beat the weather and other hazards in the round-the-world British Telecom Global Challenge which reaches Cape Town this week. In many ways the control rooms of the 14 competing yachts resemble offices rather than anything nautical. Forget sextants, old maps and telescopes - these days satellite navigation and communication, coupled with computer technology, are the way forward for yachtsmen. And they are providing a window on the world of yachting for landlubbers who can get in on the action via the Internet. A sophisticated computer and communications infrastructure has been developed to support the BT Global Challenge and give the latest race news and information to people around the globe. Graham Whitehead, head of British Telecom's Research Laboratories, says: "Information from each yacht is fed, via satellite, to race headquarters in Southampton, UK. There it is analysed before being distributed to race watchers 24 hours a day throughout the race. "The key elements of the systems are yacht communications, the race control system and the information access channels. "Communications with all yachts in the race takes place using the network of geostationary Inmarsat satellites," he says. These satellites, 36 000km above the earth, beam information to and from the yachts. "Each yacht is equipped with a small, conical antenna located on a short mast near the rear of the vessel. Connected to an onboard C-Sat transceiver and using the US military's Global Positioning System satellites, this link enables the position of each yacht to be reported at regular intervals. "The C-Sat system allows both automatic updates at pre-set times and polling of yachts by race headquarters when required. "Yachts can be quizzed individually, in groups, or as a fleet, allowing precise positions to be known at critical points. This may happen as often as every 10 minutes at certain times during the race," says Whitehead. Using on-board laptop computers, the Inmarsat link also allows two-way text messaging between yachts and base. These are used to file regular race reports and by the crew to send and receive messages. The laptops are also used to check the weather and monitor progress on screen-based charts. At the heart of the communications infrastructure is the race control system. Located at race headquarters, it receives all information gathered from the yachts via the C-Sat links. Data is checked and authorised by a team of three duty officers who share 12-hour shifts. Updated race information is passed on to BT's Global Challenge Web site as it becomes available. "Actually there are several information access channels available to the public," says Whitehead. "Race results are available throughout the race to anyone with a fax machine. Using their machine's polling facility, callers can select from a series of 10 options including latest results, charts plotting progress, news reports and comparative tables showing each yacht's performance. The fax database number - 0944 990 321 123 - allows simultaneous access for 32 callers," says Whitehead. Key race news is also available via a dial-in recorded information service on 0944 891 50550, he says. "We have a dedicated Internet server, providing worldwide access to results, within minutes of being received. The features and facilities offered by the World Wide Web, such as the ability to view text, tables, graphics, still pictures, movies and audio clips, make it an ideal tool for presentation of the wide range of race information to a global audience," says Whitehead. There have been more than 26-million hits on the site since the start of the race in September last year and an average of 250 000 hits a day. You van visit the Web site at http://www.btchallenge.com Each yacht is equipped with two notebook computers. One is connected to the satellite communications terminal and runs the software enabling the user to send and view messages. It is seen as the most important safety communication system on the yachts and allows direct fax and telex communications with the race office - any time, anywhere. The second computer is configured with PC Weather Fax for Windows software, connecting the notebook with the yacht's HF radio. It converts radio weather pictures and other weather information into a picture on the screen. The notebook also runs Navmaster Charting software which is used with the charts supplied by the Admiralty Hydrographic Office. It provides an exact reproduction of the admiralty paper charts carried by the yachts. This notebook is then linked to one of the global positioning system units to allow the yacht's position to be displayed on the screen. This can be used for tactical planning and performance data collection. The 14 competing 67-foot yachts are of exactly the same design and carry identical equipment. "While this ensures no unfair advantage, modern sailors have it a lot better than their predecessors," says Whitehead. SA skipper Boris Webber says much of the data on his computers on the yacht Courtaulds International also appear on the BT Global Challenge Web site, thanks to the race-tracking system. "Anyone with Internet access can see our logged position, elapsed time, boat speed and the weather we're sailing in. They can even watch our tactics being played out on the screen as we battle with the elements - and the competition! "Our link is two-way, which means we can send and receive E-mail, even in the middle of the ocean," he says.
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