During the 2022 Formula 1 season, and more specifically during the Friday practice session of the United States Grand Prix last October, the McLaren team introduced new technology in the form of display screens. digital displays strategically placed on its cars, allowing advertisements to be changed even as they move around the track. This technological insight could well predict the future of motorsport advertising and the technology's inventors already have their eyes set on motorcycle racing. And it's not just motorcycles that are likely to find themselves covered in display screens, as the British company behind the idea is also working on ways to incorporate it into riders' leathers too.
Seamless Digital, the company behind the display screens used on McLaren cars at the US GP in Austin and during the Friday practice sessions, is part of Silverstone Paint Technology, itself linked to another company – Silverstone Design Limited – who filed the patent application seen here. It illustrates the kind of flexible display screen that appeared on McLaren F1s in 2022, but applies them to motorcycles and rider leathers, specifically mentioning the possibilities offered in MotoGP and WSBK.
The idea is to be able to change ad displays on the move during a ride, much like the changing adverts commonly seen at bus stops and in buildings.
Going from idea to a moving vehicle, and especially at the height of motorsport where carbon fiber is the usual body material and every gram counts, is already an impressive achievement, and one that illustrates the appeal to be able to change advertisements automatically or at the touch of a button.
The screens used so far have been battery-operated, so they are isolated from the vehicle's electrical system, and McLaren began testing them in late 2021 – initially hiding them under vinyl to avoid attracting attention – ahead of the debut official in October 2022. The system installed on the McLaren, with a screen on each side of the cockpit where they are in view of the on-board cameras, weighs only 190 g in total, and thanks to low energy consumption it can operate with a very small battery.
On motorcycles, where large, flat spaces for advertising are already rare, the technology could be even more valuable. The Silverstone firm has already acknowledged that motorcycles have noticeably curved fairings and, according to its patent, its flexible display panels can conform to these curves. Even more impressive, it intends to be able to apply the same technology to leathers, using the flexible screens in pocket-shaped sections, with the presence of the leather on the back to ensure abrasion resistance.
The screens are placed behind flexible, transparent plastic panels, marked "42" in the images, sewn onto the leather surface. The patent shows small display panels on the pilot's arms, with larger ones on the chest and thighs and the largest of all on the lower back – directly in view of the onboard cameras.
On the motorcycle itself, panels, marked "16" on the drawings, are provided on the side fairings, on either side of the screen, on the front mudguard and on the sides of the seat backrest.
While advertising is clearly the main goal of the system and provides the obvious path for the idea to prove profitable for both the teams using it and the company developing it, the idea of displays Dynamics on motorcycles could also be used for other purposes, such as indicating the rider's current position in the race to make the ranking clearer for spectators, especially during endurance races.
It's still early to tell, but if McLaren adopts this system for the 2023 season, it's a safe bet that the other teams will also use it, and we wouldn't be surprised if this technology makes its appearance in MotoGP shortly. time later.
