A quantum leap for safety at the Nürburgring: the comprehensive track monitoring system and the new digital early warning system have been active since this week. The interaction of 100 cameras and 46 large LED panels now ensures a completely new level of safety on the world's most demanding race track. This represents a decisive step in the digitalization process. The artificial intelligence is now being further developed in parallel.
Whether technical defect, accident or slippery track: on the 21 kilometers of the Green Hell, from now on only a few seconds will pass between an incident and the warning and activation of a rescue chain. Valuable time that can save lives. The track safety staff can keep an eye on what is happening at all times via the cameras and can now also access the newly installed LED panels at the touch of a button.
The highly visible 100 x 80 centimeter panels will initially be used for tourist drives and commercial applications such as track days or industrial test drives. They warn following drivers almost in real time - hundreds of meters before they even reach the danger zone. The aim is to prevent secondary accidents in particular, such as hitting a stationary vehicle.
"A quantum leap that cannot be overestimated"
"From today, our track safety team has a direct view of each of the 73 corners on the Nordschleife and can intervene digitally in the action. This is a quantum leap that cannot be overestimated. Previously, danger spots were reported via radio or emergency telephone and the track safety team could only issue a warning on site. That is now a thing of the past," says Ingo Böder, Managing Director of Nürburgring 1927 GmbH & Co. KG, Ingo Böder, describes the current state of development of digitalization.
Safety control center at the Nordschleife has an overview
The early detection of hazards, the rescue and care of people and the warning of following traffic - all this is controlled centrally from a new safety control center at the Nordschleife access road. Up to three employees monitor the screens here - already supported by artificial intelligence.
With the start of the digitalization of the Nordschleife three years ago, Nürburgring 1927 GmbH & Co. KG set itself ambitious goals for safety on the legendary race track. After initial tests on one section of the track, the decision was quickly made to implement the system across the entire circuit. Since then, the Nürburgring operating company has spent a total of 11 million euros on implementing the safety measures for all active drivers on the track. Investments were made in camera technology, LED panels, the expansion of a digital infrastructure with fiber optic cables and power supply as well as the development of artificial intelligence with IT partner Fujitsu.
While the hardware is now installed and already working, work on the artificial intelligence will continue until 2025. In future, this should automatically activate the first warning signals in fractions of a second, making the system even faster and more effective. One maxim will always remain the same: No matter how efficient artificial intelligence is, the route safety staff will always retain decision-making authority and absolute control.
"This digitalization is one of the most comprehensive construction measures in the almost 100-year history of our race track," says Nürburgring Managing Director Ingo Böder. "It is a good feeling to lead it into the future with this measure."