What directly connects Sir Ben Ainslie and his Cup catamaran "Rita" in the hunt for the silver jug? The new steering wheel! It was developed in an 18-month collaboration with title partner Land Rover and is now set to help the team to Cup success this summer. The Technical Innovation Group (TIG), led by the management, and the developers from the PA Consulting Group were heavily involved in the technological development. 24 days before the first starting shot in the America's Cup qualifying round, the British team presented their latest high-tech masterpiece to the public today in Bermuda.
During development, the engineers had to solve a two-dimensional problem in particular, as the steering wheel is not only used to keep the Cup course as ideal as possible. The foils and therefore the height of the boat above the water are also controlled with the small wheel. Because the foils provide the lift that raises the Cup catamarans out of the water, the wheel has to help Ainslie "fly". This allows the boat to be steered horizontally and vertically. According to the Brits, the latter in particular required enormous creativity during development.
We have subsequently added this video. It shows how the control unit was created and what it can do...
Helmsman Ainslie said: "This is a great piece of HMI design(Editorial team: HMI stands for Human Machine Interface) and a unique piece made by expert hands. The controls are intuitive, smooth and with just the right amount of feel and feedback." Richard Hopkirk, mechanical engineering manager at Land Rover BAR, said: "This is the crucial HMI part on board. It's the link between Ben and the boat. I'm really grateful to Land Rover for their role in this process. They provided the people, expertise and resources for the design and manufacturing process of this prototype. The result is a solution that is both highly effective and efficient as well as elegant." Sir Ben Ainslie will have to see what the wheel can really do when Cup qualifying begins on 26 May.
The big America's Cup special will be published in YACHT 12 on 24 May with detailed technical analyses, team portraits, reports, TV tips, a competition and lots of extras.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
