• Circuit signage, such as advertising hoardings, company or personal logos and information can be added according to the client's specifications, (subject, where necessary, to licence approval.)
• The menu screens in the software can display whatever information or images a client may require, and they can be altered to suit a particular event.
• The graphics are close to TV-quality, and the most advanced to date in racing simulation,
• The software outputs motion control data from the physics model in the simulation to control a motion platform, allowing for very realistic movement.
• When the simulator is not being used during an event, the software can be programmed to default automatically to a video or other graphic. This can be varied according to the event.
• Music sound-track and voice-over material can be included to suit a client's requirements (subject to relevant licences).
• The software has been designed so that the simulation has two modes of control: operator mode and player mode. The operator mode allows the operator to start and stop the race, set up the car, select the circuit and level of difficulty, and whether the simulator will be controlled by the operator or driver. The driver mode allows the driver to start and stop the race and whatever functions the operator has pre-set. It means that the operator is not required to intervene in running the simulator, but he can prevent the driver from accessing the set-up and difficulty levels, etc.
• The software allows the names of drivers and lap-time information to be recorded and automatically output to a separate program for the listing of league table or printing of certificates.
• Virtually every aspect of the software can be modified to suit a client's requirements and can be updated to reflect changes in the appearance of the car, or any alterations in sponsor details.

Please note that, due to licencing restrictions, BRD software contains generic race circuits. However, any circuit can be accurately mapped subject to licence approval. The software will be licenced by BRD under a maintenance agreement. This will be a fee payable quarterly for use of the software. All software updates will be supplied free of charge, as and when they are introduced. Also included will be a service to modify the software graphics, sound, etc, as required. The maintenance agreement will include a certain number of free modifications. The details and pricing are available on request.

Pioneering research carried out by BallRacing Developments into laser-scanning technology consequently led to a significant patent in its application for use in racing simulation computer programs.

Combined with quantum developments in the field of Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging technology (LIDAR), BRD is now able to offer an exclusive service in the engineering of race simulation software.

As recently as five years ago, for example, it was not possible for LIDAR to accurately detect the speed of a car by bouncing a light beam off the vehicle and seeing how quickly it returns, nor, by repeating the process millions of times, to map the lay of any terrain. It is this latter application that BRD can uniquely apply to racing simulation software.

The scans, which commonly measure x, y, z co-ordinates, are accurate within two millimeters, which means that the geometry of a track surface can be replicated on computer software with real-world accuracy.

LIDAR is the fastest, and therefore the most cost-efficient, way of scanning a track. While Global Positioning System (GPS) devices can provide accurate location data to within a few centimetres on the x y axis, the z axis is still not very accurate. LIDAR scans can provide information that is not found in any other data set, and increasingly powerful computers are able to more easily handle the massive amounts of data produced by the scans.

Tim Ball, BRD’s Creative Director, said: “For a racing car simulation to be an accurate simulation there must be an accurate correlation between the results achievable in the simulation and the results achieved by the real world race car you are simulating i.e. the simulation must be validated against the race car being simulated.

“Typically, a racing car may have several thousands of variables affecting its performance. An accurate simulation must account for many or all of these variables in its physics model. Many of these variables are directly impacted by the surface upon which the car is running. It is the surface of the ground that sets the boundary conditions for the model. It is obvious therefore that having the most accurate physics model is pointless if the boundary conditions do not reflect the real world conditions.

“But we are not only able to engineer into software the track surface and every corner and bend, but also the grandstand, pit walls, even trees and surrounding greenery.

“This ability to interact meaningfully in a race simulation stands or falls on the quality of the track data. In addition to the delivery of realistic simulation, there is also the timing element. Laser scanning can be carried out over two or three days, which means a track can be totally recreated in one to two weeks.”