REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TRD,
U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development)
— a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. that serves as the North American
racing arm for design, development and assembly of Toyota's factory
racing engines and chassis — worked with Microsoft Corp. to design
a touch-enabled app for Windows 8 as the centerpiece of a new
strategy to improve the performance of the Toyota teams competing
in NASCAR. When drivers, crew chiefs and team engineers expressed
the need for a more mobile computing platform to monitor real-time
performance data, TRD answered with the Windows 8 Trackside app
running on Surface Pro hardware.
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During practice, drivers and crew chiefs previously had to
record racing performance data with software on a laptop, or even
with pencil and paper, requiring drivers to get out of their race
cars to view information about the car's performance, as well as to
explain what was happening on the track.
"Microsoft is excited to work with TRD to design and architect a
mobile platform on Windows 8 for Toyota's NASCAR race teams," said
Jason Campbell, group product
marketing manager at Microsoft. "The Trackside app for Windows 8 on
Surface Pro allows TRD to spend more time driving and less time in
the garage reviewing performance data, with a touch-based mobile
tablet that can go from portable note taker to a high-performance
monitor in less time than it takes to change even one tire."
Now with the Windows 8 Trackside app and Surface Pro, the race
team can efficiently capture performance data through the
touch-based app and share it with the crew in real time, enabling
mechanics to immediately get to work fine-tuning the race car for
enhanced performance. Trackside also offers touch-enabled data that
gives the crew chief and driver insight and analysis on timing and
scoring data versus competitors, allowing a team to determine if
the right adjustments have been made to the car or what adjustments
may need to be made.
"Trackside running on Surface Pro means more time is spent on
the track and less time is spent talking," said Steve Wickham, TRD's vice president of chassis
operations. "Teams are back on the track faster, allowing them more
time to determine the optimum setup for the race car. Our mission
is to take advantage of the latest innovation in technology to
quickly get better data — which translates into faster cars on the
track."
Since 2007, TRD has been developing racing software on the
Windows platform for teams to analyze and improve performance,
enabling Toyota race teams to be frequent visitors to victory lane
and annually compete for series championships. TRD differentiates
itself within the hypercompetitive racing business through
technology innovation. Today, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard is one
of the first Toyota teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series to use
the new Trackside solution.
"For Toyota teams to finish first on the track, we must also be
the first to innovate our technologies behind the scenes," said
Darren Jones, group lead for
software development at TRD. "We chose Windows 8 because we get
enterprise-ready security and management, the familiarity of the
Windows development environment, and a fully capable touch-enabled
interface."
When it came to choosing a device, TRD wanted a
high-performance, lightweight, touch-enabled computer to complement
the fast-paced environment at the race track. Several tablets were
tested during the pilot phase, but Surface Pro was ultimately
chosen because it delivered the power and performance of a laptop
PC in a tablet package, as well as the hardware benefits of its
unique Touch Covers and durable VaporMg chassis to protect the
tablet from hazardous track environments. Surface Pro allows
drivers and crew to use the device as a tablet or laptop, and its
excellent screen visibility in outdoor lighting is essential when
working at the race track.
"Working together with TRD and Microsoft, RAB Racing tested the
Windows 8 Trackside app at the end of last season and found it to
be an extremely useful tool for our organization," said
Robbie Benton, owner, RAB Racing
with Brack Maggard. "This year with a rookie driver Alex Bowman, we need to get him as much time as
possible on the race track to make sure we prepare good race cars
for him. The Trackside app will help us accomplish both of those
goals, and help our race team be better."
More information about how organizations are turning to
Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer
Spotlight newsroom:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/customerspotlight.
For press, more information on how TRD and other businesses are
implementing Windows 8 is available via SkyDrive:
http://sdrv.ms/132zedi. For businesses, more information about
Windows 8 planning and deployment is available at the Windows 8
Enterprise resource site:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/default.aspx.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide
leader in software, services and solutions that help people and
businesses realize their full potential.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.