Mission 44 students at Silverstone go from zero to AI-powered racing telemetry in 90 minutes!

On July 2nd, three days before the British Grand Prix, Arduino brought a hands-on workshop to Silverstone for 40 students aged 16 to 19, supported by Mission 44 and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. in the framework of the Igniting Inclusion Summit. The setting couldn’t have been more fitting, and as part of the bigger Qualcomm family, we are proud to have had the chance to empower young and bright minds with an activity that was such a natural fit for our team. 

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., through its Snapdragon^® brand, is a Founding Corporate Sponsor of Mission 44 – a global foundation established by Sir Lewis Hamilton with a clear belief: that it’s possible to succeed no matter your background. Through inclusive education and improving access to STEM careers, the foundation works to build a fairer, more inclusive future – and events like this one are a direct expression of that mission. Not to mention, the workshop was an exciting moment for students (and us!) to meet the 7-time F1 world champion himself!

From unboxing to AI model in under an hour

Many of the students, who are supported by Mission 44 partners AFBE-UK and upReach, had never worked with sensors, AI, or machine learning before. Yet within the first hour, they were already collecting live data and exploring how AI models are trained.

The goal was simple: to understand how an F1-inspired telemetry system works. Through hands-on experiments with Arduino^® UNO^™ Q 4GB, Arduino^® Modulino^™ and using Arduino^® App Lab and Edge Impulse as their development environments, students experienced how information is collected, analyzed, and turned into insights in real-time.

Discovering the tools that bring a future in racing within reach

For the final part of the session, some of the students raced miniature cars around a custom-built track while accelerometers streamed motion data over Bluetooth. UNO Q processed telemetry at the edge, computer vision tracked each car, and leaderboards displayed lap times, crashes, and performance metrics in real-time.

For many students, seeing their race transformed into live telemetry was the moment it all clicked.

Telemetry is exactly the kind of real-world application that we are seeing with UNO Q. Not only in our demos and workshops, but also in professional motorsport contexts (have you read about Star Stream’s success in bringing F1-level telemetry to race teams and fleet operators around the world?).

Ready to build your own future?

STEM skills are increasingly central to careers across every industry – and access to hands-on learning experiences like this one can make a real difference in who gets to build that future. Giving young people from all backgrounds the tools, the context, and the confidence to engage with technology is something we care about deeply at Arduino.

Visit Mission 44 to learn more about their work, and if today’s post made you want to start your own journey into AI, sensors, and real-world data… just get your own hands on an UNO Q!

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