Aerial view of a race track with winding asphalt roads, surrounded by green fields and water bodies, with a parking lot filled with cars and some buildings nearby.

Smart Race Track

Infrared Kinetics:

Infrared Kinetics develops precision infrared tracking technology for environments where real-time accuracy is critical, including motorsport, drone delivery, smart roads and complex urban systems. Their platform uses infrared sensors to track objects with centimetre-level precision while reducing large volumes of sensor data into real-time transmissions. 

To demonstrate the technology in a live motorsport environment, IRK needed a high-performance infrastructure partner capable of delivering power, fibre connectivity and ultra-low-latency networking across an active race circuit.

Infrared Kinetics develops precision infrared tracking technology for environments where real-time accuracy is critical, including motorsport, drone delivery, smart roads and complex urban systems. Their platform uses infrared sensors to track objects with centimetre-level precision while reducing large volumes of sensor data into real-time transmissions. 

To demonstrate the technology in a live motorsport environment, IRK needed a high-performance infrastructure partner capable of delivering power, fibre connectivity and ultra-low-latency networking across an active race circuit.

Outcome:

Pinnacom delivered the innovative communications infrastructure behind the UK’s first fully digitised race track, enabling Infrared Kinetics to test, demonstrate and operate its real-time tracking technology at the Mallory Park Circuit.

The completed system connects more than 40 powered poles, 40+ computers and over 100 infrared sensors across the circuit, with latency under 3ms across the entire network.

Pinnacom continues to manage and maintain the network, supporting regular demonstrations and testing of the IRK platform for motorsport and automotive audiences.

Challenge:

Infrared Kinetics required a robust, ultra-low-latency infrastructure platform to support real-time object tracking across a live race circuit.

The project needed to:

  • Connect more than 40 poles around the circuit

  • Provide up to 1KW of power at each pole

  • Support 100+ infrared sensors and 40+ computers

  • Deliver sub-5ms latency across the full network

  • Install the system without stopping meetings or work at Mallory Park

  • Create a central data hub with internet uplinks for demonstrations and testing

The infrastructure had to operate reliably in a live motorsport environment, while supporting the precision and speed required by IRK’s tracking technology.

Solution:

Pinnacom delivered the full network infrastructure for the IRK system, managing the fibre installation, powered mast connectivity and central hub deployment across Mallory Park Circuit.

The work included laying over 14km of fibre, connecting more than 40 poles with multicore fibre, completing over 500 fibre splices and installing a fully managed network to support computers, sensors and control systems across the circuit.

A central data hub was installed with 200Mb fibre uplinks to the internet, enabling ongoing testing, demonstrations and remote network management.

The system was delivered without interrupting normal activity at the circuit and is now maintained by Pinnacom as part of IRK’s ongoing test and demonstration platform.