Nokia Bell Labs to help Alex Thomson do the Vendee Globe race
Vendee Globe, a rather unique sailing race for singles, where skippers are more than 70 days sailing around the world on their super sailboats, is ready to start. The 9thVendée Globe will leave Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday, 8th November 2020. If you are not a skipper nor interested in sailing, this might be of your concern since Nokia, through its Bell Labs division, is participating in the race. Nokia is sponsoring Sir Alex Thomson’s team to which Nokia Bell Labs will be providing The hub. The hub is a software and hardware solution, which is a unique way to collect and transmit all the data coming from the ship and skipper. The ship antennas are transmitting data back to the control room, where race officials and viewers of the race around the world are watching ship data, skippers health parameters, and environmental data. Hopefully, with these advanced sensory and connectivity innovations, Alex Thomson will become the first Britt ever to win the Vendee Globe race.
You can find out more about the hub in the short promo video posted on Twitter by Alex Thomson Racing.
Together with @BellLabs we bring you The Hub….the ultimate way to follow Alex onboard the @HUGOBOSS boat during the @VendeeGlobeENG https://t.co/gBxUBW19VA
Launches Sunday November 8th. #AllezAlex pic.twitter.com/6s7VsRnqGW— Alex Thomson Racing (@ATRacing99) November 4, 2020
Vendee Globe is one of the most challenging races there is. The 16-meter sailboat, which is a marvel of technology and design, is driven by a single skipper around the world. The only contact with the word will be technologies built inside the ship, and this is going to be a good test for the technologies of Nokia Bell Labs. I am looking forward to the race that you can also follow at the VendeeGlobe website.
