Laserscanning to be Banned from July in the UK

[madotter]

I still get my free 1 years premium subscription... Right? Guys?

 

[Shaun Clarke]

Lets get a partition start....if it gets over 100,000 signatures, it has to go to parliament?

 

[Racer67]

[OT] This is exactly how NOT to deal with such issues and has been the basis for the current over PC culture in our society - duck your head, don't speak up and occasionally vent on the internet while constantly complaining what everyone else does / has / owns.

Topics should be faced, spoken of and ill issues should be discussed and solved through empowerment and logic.

It was a great joke. I enjoyed being taken, as it was rather clever ;-)

You have completely misinterpreted what I wrote and put your own personal agenda and judgments about my character first. Your response confirms exactly the kind of knee jerk reactionary conflicts that occur on the internet without first understanding the context of what was written. I to thought this was a funny April Fools joke for the community and I was merely making parody of it. If you didn't think what I wrote was funny that is fine, but your diatribe about "PC Culture" and "empowerment" has nothing to do with my comment.

 

[Ole Andreasen]

Man oh man... I KNEW it was the darn first of April - and still.... jumped right in. Pathetic...

A very very cool April fools thread.

 

[svt4cam]

Laser scanning is a plot by housing and mall developers to destroy race tracks so they can build on the land.

 

[MysteryHelmet]

Quality April Fools joke. Much respect.

 

[Blackmarch7]

Ha! UK don't have any good racetrack, so it's gonna be no damage.

 

[rooshooter]

View attachment 182886
Laserscanning of race tracks in Great Britain is looking set to be banned from July 18th of this year.

In rather disappointing news for sim racing fans, the UK government have outlawed the use of laserscanning technology on British race tracks for fear of "untold damage" to the racing surface caused by capture methods of race simulation developers. This is especially pertinent to some UK tracks due to their UNESCO World Heritage listing such as Cadwell Park and Snetterton.

With laserscanning becoming increasingly popular in modern racing simulations, bringing the level of detail on our virtual race tracks to unprecedented levels of realism, the new British law will come as a massive blow to the aspirations of current and future game developers looking to capture accurate track data from race circuits located in the United Kingdom. Following the decision announced yesterday fears are growing that many other countries will follow the UK's lead in outlawing laserscan technology in racing environments.

Research undertaken by the Brunel University of London over the past three years has uncovered damaging claims that laserscanning a tarmac surface such as race tracks can weaken the racing surface by up to 25% (the equivalent of seven years continuous racing usage) and structurally weaken the integrity of the track base, potentially leading to costly repairs for circuit owners and more importantly exposing drivers to "unacceptable levels of risk over and above those considered reasonable for modern day motorsports"

Professor Gideon Thomas of Brunel University explains:

"A race track is a living and breathing thing, and with the often invasive techniques employed by individuals who use laserscanning technology on these tracks can cause untold damage. Using a controlled sample of over 40 commonly used materials in the construction of a modern racing surface, our research deems the damage caused to a track in just a single scanning session causes unacceptable levels of risk over and above those considered reasonable for modern day motorsports"​

Thomas goes on to claim:

"With standard laserscanning techniques a track surface will generally deteriorate between 20 and 25% of it's surface integrity and furthermore cause a weakening of the structural rigidity of the track below what can be seen on the surface. This damage is irreversible once it has been caused, and untreated could potentially mean permanent damage that cannot easily be rectified by the circuit owner"
​

It is understood that the British government, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister David Cameron, had commissioned the research following concerns from a group of race track owners about the dangers of the reasonably recent technology.

Although the United Kingdom have moved to outlaw laserscanning from July, other countries have already begun to conduct their own studies into the findings produced by Brunel University as they look to make their own decisions on the continual use of this technology. Whilst motorsport and those responsible for organising events should always ensure the highest safety standards are adhered to for fans and competitors alike, this recent study could well have significant impact on the sim racing industry over the coming years.

RaceDepartment have reached out to several game developers and race track venues for their opinions on the matter and will publish more as it becomes known. Watch this space...

Do you think the new UK ruling will have a major impact on sim racing? Can drone scanning take over from traditional laser scan methods? Will other countries follow the UKs lead? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[rooshooter]

1st of April, I was sucked in too!!!!

 

[Andy_J]

****. I forgot what day it is. I must be the most gullible person on Earth.

No your not, the one's who voted are more gullible than you.

 

[Andy_J]

Come on over to North America and scan away please. We don't have such opressing rules....Yet.

Got news for ya, neither do we.

 

[ronniej]

Yup, I fell for it

*even voted

 

[Rupe Wilson]

I think i saw 2 more web sites talking about it also..

 

[stadlereric]

Good god. A race track is not a "living breathing thing" it's tarmac! Have you ever heard a race track say "ouch please stop laser scanning me!"? Give me a break! I understand the importance of keeping historic tracks in good condition, but for new tracks this should be up to the discrestion of the owners. Wait a second it is April 1st... Am I a fool?

 

[Velopl]

Over 400 votes...not bad Sir @Paul Jeffrey

 

[JeffL]

They can still be very accurate with traditional surveys

 

[Tume]

So, um...a typo in the OP?

Shouldn't laser scanning be banned in UK only on April 1st?

 

[InsaneOzzie]

@Paul Jeffery Lovely piece of bait on your April 1 hook mate........well done!
Had plenty of us going, I voted before I read the subject matter, but once I did I knew I had been had, it was the "a track is a living breathing thing" statement that opened my eyes, but you got me even if it was for just a minute or two

 

[Dirk Steffen]

You have completely misinterpreted what I wrote and put your own personal agenda and judgments about my character first. Your response confirms exactly the kind of knee jerk reactionary conflicts that occur on the internet without first understanding the context of what was written. I to thought this was a funny April Fools joke for the community and I was merely making parody of it. If you didn't think what I wrote was funny that is fine, but your diatribe about "PC Culture" and "empowerment" has nothing to do with my comment.

Didn't mean to offend you.

 

[Jake Loewenstein]

I smell a rat.