MTN has commenced on a series of test runs of its state-of-the-art network built for the Bloodhound Supersonic Car (BSC).
Bloodhound commenced the tests project on the Hakskeenpan desert in the Northern Cape enabled by the MTN state of the art network. The MTN’s network will be used to transmit data – in real-time – at high speeds to the BSC as it prepares to break the land speed record and reach speeds in excess of 1,609 kilometers per hour.
Engineers from MTN together with the Bloodhound team, and Emcom Wireless, have tested the communications infrastructure, by using high-speed, low level fly-by’s of a jet aeroplane. The L39 Albatros jet will be flying across the pan at speeds of 500mph (805km/h) with Bloodhound’s head of IT, Sarah Covell in the back seat, testing the communications linkup.
The event marked the first series of runs that the purpose-built car will undertake as it prepares to smash the land speed record in an event planned in September 2015.
A variety of systems and equipment will be tested in the coming months. During the scheduled two sets of runs, the Bloodhound Supersonic Car will stream up to 300 channels of live data, and three channels of video off the car, which pupils and fans in over 200 countries across the world will be able to watch, consume and manipulate in real-time for educational purposes.
MTN will provide the infrastructure and the solutions to stream the data from the car.
The Bloodhound project is one of MTN’s most creative and innovative community social investment programmes for supporting education in schools.
One of Bloodhound’s goals – apart from breaking the land speed record – is to allow students all over the world to participate in a Global Engineering Adventure.
Source: itNewsAfrica
