I have attended the opening day (April 25th) of the AutoChina 2018 auto show in Beijing. The sector is more dynamic than ever in China: set to have one of the global leadership position not only in operational but also technological ways necessary to ensure product efficiency, performance, reliability and overall appreciation within an Electric Vehicles framework that is booming.
IL MOTORSPORT ITALIANO FA SISTEMA (The Italian Motorsports Nets)
Il 13 aprile scorso una significativa rappresentanza del Motorsport Italiano si è data appuntamento a Roma, presso il NOVOTEL EUR, per il primo incontro dell’Associazione Motorsport Italia in occasione del primo ePrix di Formula E nella capitale.
L’obiettivo dell’incontro è stato raggiunto: riscontrare interesse, argomenti e condizioni per poter sviluppare sinergie strutturate nel settore e supportarne costruttivamente la crescita organizzativa allo scopo di cogliere e generare opportunità di espansione a livello nazionale e internazionale Leggi tutto “IL MOTORSPORT ITALIANO FA SISTEMA (The Italian Motorsports Nets)”
MOTORSPORT: BACK TO THE FUTURE FROM ITS ELECTRIC ROOTS
During the last few months electric motorsport has made several headlines: announcements of new series (among others several, and the number keeps rising: support series to the MotoGP, GT series, Global RallyCross Challenge); technical and commercial upgrades of present ones (see Formula E); new record seeking challenges in classic racing venues (see for example the VW prototype and the Pikes Peak hillclimb).
We have come to associate electric motorsport to something innovative and futuristic; in actuality it is thanks to electric power that performance has begun to be associated with the emerging newly born field of automotive at the end of the 1800s.
On December 18th 1898 the French Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat was the first protagonist of an officially recorded Leggi tutto “MOTORSPORT: BACK TO THE FUTURE FROM ITS ELECTRIC ROOTS”
IL MOTORSPORT ITALIANO DELLE PICCOLE E MEDIE AZIENDE VUOLE CRESCERE: UNA CONFERENZA SUL TEMA
(THE ITALIAN MOTORSPORT MADE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES WANTS TO GROW: A CONFERENCE ON THE TOPIC)
Sarà un vero piacere contribuire a creare un contesto di apprendimento, condivisione e concreta progettualità in occasione di questo evento. Il programma della conferenza disponibile a questo link:
ASSOCIAZIONE MOTORSPORT ITALIA Conferenza di Presentazione 2018
13 – Aprile 2018, Roma – Novotel EUR
HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND INTERNATIONALIZATION: INDUSTRY 4.0 AND BEYOND (part 2 of 2)
As second part to the article (the previous is at this link) there are three aspects to point out: 1) the global dynamics context opportunities related to SMEs rooted in Motorsport, 2) along this way of thinking several direct links that the Motorsport Industry has with principles and practices of current and future manufacturing (Industry 4.0) and 3) tools that SMEs can utilise in order to maximise at best the expression and profitable utilisation of know-how developed and in development. Leggi tutto “HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND INTERNATIONALIZATION: INDUSTRY 4.0 AND BEYOND (part 2 of 2)”
IN SEARCH OF A GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION: WALKING THORUGH SILICON VALLEY’S ROOTS
Silicon Valley is the cradle of a unique way relevant to innovation, entrepreneurship and global business development. To note that this legendary geographical does not simply relate to the latest technological developments but also to the way they are stimulated and made grow through original business models and a business ecosystem that in terms of structure and mindset is arguably still unrivalled on a global scale. We have had the opportunity to talk to an Italian student that has recently had an in depth organised learning experience there. Leggi tutto “IN SEARCH OF A GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION: WALKING THORUGH SILICON VALLEY’S ROOTS”
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN F1 AND AUTOMOTIVE: HONDA’S OVERALL OPPORTUNITY
REALITY CHECK ENDURES
Fernando Alonso frustrations with the Honda power unit reached new peaks during last weekend Belgian GP. The situation has turned almost farcical; as Charles Bradley, Global Editor-in-Chief of motorsport.com reports: ‘Honda finds new way to frustrate Alonso.You could not make it up, as Honda found an all-new way to annoy Fernando Alonso in qualifying. Just after we marvelled at him taking Pouhon flatout, we got a familiar cry from the cockpit: “No power. No power. From Turn 11 to Turn 12. Half a second. How is this possible?” It was a rhetorical question, as we all knew who to blame. Honda’s systems got confused by Fernando not lifting at the double-left hander, and failed to deploy the 160bhp burst that it should have on the run to Fagnes. He missed out on a Q3 spot by 0.084s – even after the bold effort of teammate Stoffel Vandoorne to give him a tow.’ Leggi tutto “ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN F1 AND AUTOMOTIVE: HONDA’S OVERALL OPPORTUNITY”
How motorsport firms easily leverage expertise and knowledge from and to other sectors
Motorsport engineering firms are well known for their technical expertise and project management skills, particularly in the latter case around their speed of working. Their technical expertise comes from dealing at the cutting edge of science and technology in areas as diverse as light-weighting, electronics and thermal management for example. Motorsport firms also exemplify leading edge project management capabilities given the rapid turnaround of the motorsport timetable. In this case the latest technical developments are needed not next year or next month, but usually the next week or even the next day,
Facts from history Leggi tutto “How motorsport firms easily leverage expertise and knowledge from and to other sectors”
Motorsport and advanced healthcare solutions: a faster and faster race
A few days ago an innovative solution has been presented to transport safely and swiftly newborns during emergencies via means of terrestrial or airborne transportation. The baby carrier, named ‘BabyPod 20’ has ben developed by Williams Advanced Engineering. The project has been developed in cooperation with Advance Healthcare Technology (AHT) that has been present within this specific manufacturing field for years.
This project recalls other ones in which healthcare has been benefiting by expertise and technologies originating from Motorsport. Some of these projects have been recently presented an even organised by SGINetwork (a scientific innovation development hub) where McLaren Applied Technologies pointed out several projects that have been developed by them (one of the first one was carried forward in cooperation with Glaxo).
Once again innovation in the healthcare field has been generated from Motorsport as we have pointed out in an article we wrote months ago ‘Motorsport Industry, Innovation and Knowledge Sharing Across Industries’ linked o a presentation we made in September 2016 within a conference held at Regent’s University in London.
Not only technology but also organisational processes developed on track have been found very useful to improve healthcare processes as pointed out in this real life example ‘F1 Pit Stop Techniques To Help Save Lives in Resuscitation of Newborn Babies’ .
While working on the research relevant to the book Fast Track Innovation we are finding other projects linking Motorsport know-how to advanced healthcare systems: projects that have been brought forward even many years ago, by companies much smaller than Williams and McLaren yet technically extremely effective.
Many Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) within the Motorsport Industry can fully take advantage of know-how that they already have and that they can convey (in an aware methodical way), recognised value added within other fields, not only healthcare. Stay tuned …
The leveraging power of the humanities becomes stronger in a technological world
An article published on latest July-August issue of the Harvard Business Review, titled “Liberal Arts in the Data Age” and authored by JM Olejarz points out how the humanities can have a driving role within the imagination needed to channel the potential of technologies; technologies that by now are growing at a faster and faster pace with increasing market impacts in a wider range of fields.
The famous quote by Albert Einstein “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand” creates a framework for this fine balance and synergy between imagination and technology.
Erik Kim recently wrote a blog article entitled “10 lessons Pablo Picasso can teach you” and quite interestingly he lists a series of actual tools that have been utilised by the artists to develop his masterpieces and that nowadays can represent actual ways to drive such technological developments.
In my opinion this represents a fundamental perspective that enlightens the increasing relevance of the human factor within a changing world strongly impacted by change fuelled by Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and other systemic approaches that appear to sideline people.
This entire topic is up for a necessary debate from many different perspectives.