America’s Cup Technology

I’m sure these are electronics and software most of you don’t have any experience with, but I would not be surprised if they will eventually come available in one way or another to amateur racing or even leisure sailing.
“During training, salient data is taken from various optical-fibre-based devices that measure strain on the boat, as well as various sensors that measure boat speed, wind speed and direction. Fibre optics change their refractive index when put under strain so the strain can be measured by measuring the change in wavelength of the light transmitted. The data is read via a wireless LAN connection into data files, which can then be quickly and easily manipulated in MATLAB on a support boat. The results can be visually displayed in a variety of different ways to help the team make quick decisions about changing the yacht�s set-up.”