FIA uses NFC technology to certify authenticity of racing suits

In April 2016, several teams in events organized by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) began using RFID systems to authenticate Climacool racing suits provided by British motorsport equipment company Fyshe. Since then, Fyshe has begun sewing NFC RFID tags into racing suits. The company hopes this will ensure that the racing suits, boots and helmets used in competition are FIA approved.

Currently, Fyshe does not label gloves, shoes or underwear. Christopher Nurse, founder and managing director of Fyshe, said that in the future these tags will be used to track the product life of goods. Fyshe is the exclusive UK importer and distributor of karting helmets and accessories. The label tracking method will help its products comply with the latest FIA standards.

(FIA GT PRO defending champion Richard Lietz demonstrates how to use a smartphone RFID app to verify the authenticity of a Climacool racing suit)

Fyshe also provides a smartphone application RFID. Racers and event inspectors can use NFC mobile phones to read RFID tags on clothing and access and manage clothing-related data.

Fyshe uses NFC technology to verify the authenticity of racing suits to ensure that they comply with relevant regulations and standards of the FIA and SFI (a non-profit organization that publishes quality standards related to racing equipment).

Founded in 2002, Fyshe is a company specializing in selling motorSports equipment to FIA drivers. Nurse said: “Racing has become an international sport, and racing suits are emerging in endlessly, which also makes equipment verification increasingly complex.”

For example, only some racing suits meet FAI and SFI flame retardant and material requirements. These racing suits, helmets and other accessories are often very expensive. Some racers may purchase cheap equipment, but it's likely that it won't meet the requirements. Therefore, FIA race inspectors need to determine whether the racing suit meets the relevant requirements.

The FIA also sells holographic images to authorized apparel providers. But in general, holographic images are less secure than NFC technology, as they can be counterfeited and there is no way to ensure the correct racing suit is used. Starting in April this year, Fyshe began attaching RFID NFC RFID tags to each Climacool racing suit. Each tag has a built-in 13.56MHz NXP chip that is compatible with the ISO 14443 standard. RFID also provides an application and content management software to Store and manage NFC Tag-related data. The tag ID is also tied to the racing suit's color, size and manufacturing date.

The FIA World Endurance Championship held at Silverstone Circuit uses NFC smart racing suits. Employees can use NFC mobile phones to read the racing suit tag ID numbers. The app can display racing suit data and perform verification.

At the Silverstone race, Abu Dhabi Racing Team and KCMG Racing Team began to use smart racing suits. Fyshe also binds racing suit information (including racer name, team, racing suit unique design information) and tag ID.

(When the smartphone reads the RFID tag of the racing suit, the RFID tag will display the driver’s name, team and other information)

Fyshe has attached NFC RFID tags to all clothing, and the RFID software also stores user information. Starting with the app, the company also started thinking about new ways to use the technology. Racers like the idea of tying medical records to racing suits. In this way, when a driver has an accident during a race, medical staff can read the tag information and read the medical information. In this way, medical staff can know information about drug contraindications such as penicillin allergy in riders.

 However, these data are not saved within the RFID application. This data will be managed by organizations such as the FIA. This is because the data is private and sensitive and will be stored on secure servers and will only be made available to authorized medical teams.

Fyshe is also a helmet distributor and is currently negotiating with Japanese helmet manufacturers to embed NFC chips in helmets. The NFC chip will display the helmet's usage date. This improves helmet safety.

So far, racers are very satisfied with the RFID tags, and Fyshe plans to use NFC in other products such as wearable devices in the future.