Race Capture Pro

#1

There is a new start up company out of Washington that is building a open source and affordable data acquisition system for racers.

They offer both a data logger box ($299) and a cellular based live internet data streaming module ($150)

This looks very promising for those drivers who are really looking to improve their driving. It can also warn pit crews to potential problems with the car before the driver even knows using the live data stream.

Check it out at: http://www.indiegogo.com/RaceCapture

Race Capture Pro puts at your disposal:

High Frequency 10Hz GPS for accurately tracking your position in the world
Precision 3 Axis digital accelerometer to measure G-forces in all directions
Yaw Sensor to measure car rotation and detect oversteer and understeer conditions
Sensor Inputs to measure engine temperature, throttle / brake position, boost pressure, wheel speed, RPM and more
Hardware expansion to add OBD-II and CAN interface upgrades
All in a compact, rugged enclosure you’d be proud to show off.

Robert
E30 Motor Werks
www.e30motorwerks.com

#2

If you guys have any questions on this thing, ping me! I’m one of the Autosport Labs people.
More than that, we’ve got more than a few E30 guys who’ve bought them already so we’ve got a bit of a community forming up on them!
Let us know what events you’re headed to!
We want to be sure you’re using all your car, before you go out and buy more go fast parts. That’s our whole focus, make better drivers, and show you the real ability of the awesomeness that is the E30! A lot of people say their car is the best. This is how you can prove it! We have 2 main targets of measurement. We measure the car’s performance of course, but we feel it’s just as important to measure what the driver is doing, that’s why we have so many channels!
Also check the indiegogo racecapture site, there’s a downloadable papercraft model too. So you can print and place it in the car to know exactly how it’ll fit, and where the connections are.
I’m here to support E30 guys (and ladies) so fire away with questions!
(just don’t spam me out)
I want to be here to help! Here’s to a great race prep season. The season, before the season!

#3

freds4hb

Can you explain more on how this system can control a GoPro? Does it have to be one of the newest GoPro?

Also it looks like these are all on preorder. March is the soonest we could get one?

Thanks.

#4

Yeah we actually have a wiring harness we’ve made to connect to the GoPro 2 and it triggers it when the logging starts so it always matches the data logging track.
This along with a few other cool items isn’t out/in production yet.
availability will be noted.
Obviously we’re just coming along with quite a number of new wrinkles and there are only a few of us.
That’s for the older GoPro’s.
Brent’s got a plan for the newer units, but needless to say we’re targeting similar functionality on them as well in the not too distant future. Long story short, the old GoPros 2 and earlier, we have a solution already!
(more soon).
Cheers!

#5

Also, the fulfillment dates (delivery) dates are approximate. We want to give realistic numbers for delivery.
If you see on indiegogo, most people are still developing.
We are producing.
We are also, only a few people in a shop in Seattle, where we do everything from scratch. We’re building as fast as we can.
Hopefully we’ll deliver sooner, but those dates are there in times we know we can deliver on.
Thank you for your patience, it shall be rewarded.
You will be faster!!
Also, we crossed the funding threshold last night! So our indiegogo funders get a sequential shift light too!
Just know the fastest way to get one, is to fund it at indiegogo. It will also be the cheapest it will ever be there.
Hop on board!
http://www.indiegogo.com/RaceCapture/x/686407

#6

Hi barkerdm,

Brent here with Autosport Labs too! Thanks for checking out our project.

Some more specifics on the GoPro integration that would help. The GoPro’s have a unique feature where a remote trigger can be used to start/stop the camera by accessing the plug on the back of the camera.

We can leverage this GoPro feature by automatically triggering the camera using one of RaceCapture Pro outputs. In fact, multiple cameras can be simultaneously start/stopped using this feature. The GoPro cable trigger isn’t part of the base package being offered in the Indiegogo campaign, but we’ll offer later as an add-in accessory. This technique works for all versions of the GoPro cameras: from the original HD Hero to the latest Hero 3

Hope this helps!

#7

Brent

I see that analog inputs are listed for 0-5V sensors, but all the pins are protected to 45V. For aftermarket sensors, like pressure transducers for oil pressure, that run on 0-12V would we need to go through a voltage divider first?

Looks like there is a trigger button on the unit for starting/stopping logging. If we want an external switch to initiate logging I’d assume we would have to use one the digital input channels? Or I guess one could use Lua to write a script to control logging (or camera) based on if the wheels are turning.

#8

A lot of sensors are 12v supply, but actually output a 0-5v signal, so you’d need to double check. in any case, if you need to deal with a 0-12v signal you can easily wire up a voltage divider.

The button is initially configured to do a manual start/stop. You could write a lua script to automatically start/stop logging based on GPS velocity (or some other input) - this is what we do right now for our race car.

#9

How do frequency inputs get logged? Since these signals are usually step waves, do you have to log the sensor at a higher frequency than the signal, or does the unit read the sensor at a higher frequency and just record the value at what ever the logging frequency is set?

#10

Hi Denny,

Great question. The frequency input accepts a square-wave type signal. The system uses a concept of ‘interrupts’ which trigger whenever it sees the rising edge of the square wave input. The system measures the time between these triggers, and translates that to RPM, milliseconds, microseconds, etc.

This happens independently of the sample rate - so you can log from 1Hz to 100Hz and you’d get the same value.

Hope this helps! Let us know if we can help further. Note, there are only a few hours left in the campaign! We won’t be taking any regular orders until all of the indiegogo campaign perks are fulfilled, for maximum fairness.

#11

Thanks Brent. I’m already on the campaign list. Also interested in your GoPro cable once its avalible.