Control Pal

Technology in driving is becoming more dominant...
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Horse
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Control Pal

Postby Horse » Mon May 14, 2018 12:11 pm

Hanna taught me 'seat of the pants' cornering balance assessment :)

She might be out a job . . . http://www.controlpal.co.uk/control-pal.asp

Anyone used it?
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

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dvenman
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Re: Control Pal

Postby dvenman » Mon May 14, 2018 1:31 pm

Hmmmm...for racing driver tuition I can see an application.

However, for road use it's more limited. I could quite happily drive a speed into a brick wall - the only loss of smoothness coming at impact!

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Horse
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Re: Control Pal

Postby Horse » Mon May 14, 2018 1:37 pm

dvenman wrote:Hmmmm...for racing driver tuition I can see an application.

However, for road use it's more limited. I could quite happily drive a speed into a brick wall - the only loss of smoothness coming at impact!


Yes, but . . . ;)

This sums it up for road use, perhaps:

‘Throughout the day the ControlPAL was used to monitor the severity of braking, however it was found that it was equally effective at monitoring cornering and acceleration. It quickly identified that although we thought we had already begun to develop the technique of three pressure braking there was still room for significant improvement. It also identified how far in advance of hazards planning needs to begin. I personally found I needed to prepare for roundabouts a lot earlier than I had been previously and the instrument identified my braking was being initiated too late. It also identified my acceleration was sometimes too harsh and that when negotiating roundabouts and tighter turns the level of g force experienced by those in the rear could be reduced dramatically with careful preparation. The instrument has been significantly impressive in improving the performance of all those in the vehicle today and helped to highlight the areas that still require improvement’.

Ambulance driver trainee.


My late M-in-Law was a nurse in casualty and occasionally had to accompany patients in ambos during transfers from the small town A&E (we now have just a minor injuries unit) to the bigger regional hospital. She used to keep Quells to hand for those journeys!
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

Gareth
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Re: Control Pal

Postby Gareth » Mon May 14, 2018 6:16 pm

The target market appears to be ADIs teaching people to drive, rather than teaching them to drive differently.
there is only the road, nothing but the road ...

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Horse
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Re: Control Pal

Postby Horse » Mon May 14, 2018 7:17 pm

Gareth wrote:The target market appears to be ADIs teaching people to drive, rather than teaching them to drive differently.


As the famous bank robber Willie Sutton said: follow the money. There are more ADIs than ambo trainers.
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

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GTR1400MAN
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Re: Control Pal

Postby GTR1400MAN » Mon May 14, 2018 8:16 pm

Interesting.

The Kawasaki H2 SX I mentioned in this topic has one of these built into the TFT display as a little motorcycle icon and a glowing bar that moves about it.

My comment on handing the bike back was that I could see no point in it as when I was braking, accelerating or cornering hard, as the last thing I want to be doing is staring at a display ... no matter how pretty the modern TFT dashes are.

Behind the scenes all this data is mixed into the bike's brain as input to the cornering ABS , cornering lights (three in a vertical stack, more light up the further you lean), anti-wheelie, traction control and (variable) engine braking.
Mike Roberts - Now riding a Triumph Explorer XRT. My username comes from my 50K miles on a Kawasaki 1400GTR, after many years on Hondas of various shapes and styles. - https://tinyurl.com/mikerobertsonyoutube

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Horse
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Re: Control Pal

Postby Horse » Mon May 14, 2018 8:23 pm

If the H2 has cornering ABS, the there's a lot more going on under the hood than there is in the Pal gizmo

FWIW, I would think a phone app, using the built-in accelerometer, could do the same for cars. Bikes, no, as balance in a corner means that 'down' isn't.
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

waremark
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Re: Control Pal

Postby waremark » Tue May 15, 2018 10:14 pm

I have been driving a Porsche with a g display like this available in the dash. As already mentioned when in a high g situation the last place you want to be looking is at the dash. However, it records the max in each direction since reset, and I think you can download history to look at in more detail on a computer. A previous driver had scored 1.53g left and 1.45 right - pretty impressive. I reset on Friday and over the weekend one of my friends had got it to about 1g in three directions, with a mere 0.85 for acceleration. Presumably the idea is to see how higb you can get the g loading?

ancient
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Re: Control Pal

Postby ancient » Wed May 16, 2018 8:34 am

It sounds very like the monitoring system my employer put in my lease car as a trial run a couple of changes back. It reported high g events and their frequency. The feedback from those running the scheme was that it would alert for drivers who had a lot of roundabouts on their route (e.g. MK) or who lived in country districts (like Wales) where getting out of the way of oncoming heavies and tractors can involve rapid decisions about using a passing place etc. I suppose as a training tool to understand that these are occurring it has a place, but agree with waremark, it too easily becomes a toy and a target for those so inclined (as I would have been in my youth ;) ).

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Horse
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Re: Control Pal

Postby Horse » Wed May 16, 2018 8:54 am

ancient wrote: I suppose as a training tool to understand that these are occurring it has a place, but agree with waremark, it too easily becomes a toy and a target for those so inclined (as I would have been in my youth ;) ).


Yup, ^ that :)

As a training tool, encouraging good balance of the vehicle (especially, perhaps for ambo drivers, chauffers etc), then its instant feedback could be valuable. 8-) :geek:

I've taught a couple of learners what JC, Gareth and Hanna showed me, both felt (sic) it improved their control and comfort :steering: Vs :gear:

Personally, I try to drive smoothly, the biggest compliment I receive is when passengers are all sleep. A friend of Foal once complimented me on my smooth driving. He later told foal that he'd had a skinful and otherwise would have been decorating the scenery :cheers: :vomit: [ < Didn't ever expect to be using that smiley]

But as a toy, encouraging competitive 'scoring' of G force etc . . . :lol: :racing: :hit:
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.


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