What it is

What is an AI race engineer?

An AI race engineer is a program that reads your simulator's live telemetry (speed, laps, fuel, tyres, where your rivals are) and talks to you over the radio while you drive, like a team engineer on the pit wall: it tells you what's happening, helps with strategy and points out where you can go faster. Unlike a classic spotter with set phrases, you can ask it questions in your own words and it answers.

How it works

Sims publish their telemetry while you play: PC sims in a block of memory that other programs can read, and Gran Turismo 7 over the network, from the PlayStation. The engineer reads that data dozens of times per second, decides when something is worth saying and says it out loud.

Urgent things (a car alongside, a flag) have to come through instantly, so they're usually a prepared phrase. Things that need thought (how your pace is holding up, when to pit, a question from you) are written by a language model with your race data in front of it.

What it does for you

It depends on what each game publishes, but typically:

Spotter: who is on your left or right.
Flags, incidents and track limits.
Fuel and tyres: how many laps you have left and how the tyres are doing.
Gaps to rivals, when they actually change.
Strategy and pit stops.
Coaching: which corner you lose time in and why.
Answering what you ask it over the radio.

What it can't know

An honest engineer only talks about what the game measures. Gran Turismo 7, for example, doesn't publish rival positions or flags; iRacing doesn't publish damage as a percentage. If the game doesn't provide it, a good engineer says so or stays quiet instead of making it up. Be wary of one that always has an answer.

How it differs from a spotter or a coach

A classic spotter calls traffic with recorded phrases. A coach analyses your laps, often once you've finished driving. An AI race engineer brings both together and adds conversation: you ask, and it answers with your race data.

SmoothOperator

SmoothOperator is an AI race engineer for Windows that speaks English, Spanish and Catalan, and works with Gran Turismo 7, iRacing, Assetto Corsa, ACC, AC EVO, Le Mans Ultimate, RaceRoom and rFactor 2. In each game it says what that game publishes, and its website breaks this down game by game.

By game

What the engineer tells you in your sim:

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a wheel or special hardware?

No. It reads the telemetry the game publishes, whether you use a wheel or a controller. What you do need is a game that publishes that data.

Does it work on console?

It depends on the game. Gran Turismo 7 sends its telemetry over the network, so a program on your PC or phone can read it. Most console games don't publish it.

Can it make me faster?

It can tell you where you lose time and what changes in that corner compared to your best lap. Going faster is still up to you.

Does it make things up?

It can happen if the program can't tell what the game measures from what it doesn't. SmoothOperator is built to stay quiet when the data isn't there.

Right now we are in private beta: we open seats in batches and let you know by email. Joining the waitlist is free; the plans we intend to offer are on the Pricing page.