Full Live Timing

Stages Timing with a totally new philosophy and new procedures

In modern standard electronic timing, an active Transponder (TAG) is carried on a vehicle and sends to the timing point its ID,  when passing close to it.  An expensive antenna and a computer get that info and combine it with a time stopped  by one (1) lightbarrier connected to a printing clock.  A separate modem is than forwarding the data to HQ.

Pros The identification of the passing car is done by a computer avoiding the human mistakes while reading the competitor's number and forwarding it either by voice or by typing it.

Cons On the timing point are needed: lightbarrier, printing clock, tag reading antenna, computer, modem and 2 timekeepers. The number of missed ID readings in  hostile offroad environment, still requires a human backup. Transponder timing on a circuit , where antennas are drawned in tarmac, working at few cm. of distance, is much more reliable. Anyhow, there is no backup in case of human mistake. When using only one single lightbeam, there are several wrong time printouts due to dust, stones, walking people and misalignements.

In the new Sporttraxx Timing Solution the vehicle itself is the ID source

Here the new technical features :

• The lightbarrier is a laserbeam that can be expanded to up to 5 parallel beams avoiding wrong time printouts.  An ideal 2 beam system shows already 98% filtering
• The laserbarrier warns by a beeper when accidentally the beam alignement is lost
• The laserbarrier has internal GPS core for time and position proof.
• The internal GPRS modem provides continous connection to HQ and It sends continuosly the exact GPS position and time
• A special radio transmitter is ready to send a coded signal to the passing vehicle
• The vehicle carries the live tracking device with a special built-in radio receiver
  

and here what happens:

• The vehicle crosses the timing line,
• The laserbeam(s) prints the official time on paper and sends it immediately to HQ , beside own GPS coordinates, via the internal GPRS modem
• Same time the laserbeam also sends a special radio code to the car
• The tracking unit on the car receives the code and sends it (with GPS time and own location) to HQ via its own GPRS modem
• HQ has received the time and knows the owner of it.  Verified through matching times and coordinates coming both from timing line and vehicle.
• After this crosscheck the timing software can definitely combine TIME to ID and forward data to results software

Pros: on the timing line there is only a lightbarrier (eventually multibarrier), a printing clock, and 1 marshall. That person easily overviews the system and only records the sequence of vehicles. The time is acquired by an electronic device on ground and  forwarded. The ID is sent by an electronic device on the car .

Cons.....

Backup at 3 levels

The reliability of the systems is based on

• Multibeam barriers reduce wrong times of non existing competitors
• Timing data are printed on paper, saved in internal memory of clock, internal memory of lightbarrier, in the GPRS sent packages to Sporttraxx server
• Timing data, based on GPS position when receiving the radio code from beam, are saved in tracking device memory on the car and as GPRS packages sent  to the Sporttraxx  server
• No human intervention
  

1st Level: Transmission When a timing value has been received from  the laserbarrier and is matching  with the same time, in the same position, coming form a vehicle, the process is closed.

2nd Level: Memory The standard technical condition is that both car and timing device are connected to the GPRS network. If, for any reason they are not, a buffer will keep the data and send them as son as the connection has been estabilished again.  Anyhow saved data can be anytime retrieved from both units either remotely via GPRS or locally by connecting the units via serial port.

3rd Level: Virtual GPS The GPS positioning accuracy of the laserbeam, calculated on the average positions acquired over a longer static period, is very high. The tracking unit on the car has its own GPS recorder with a 1 second frequency.  In case of a totally missing time from the laserbarrier , it is possible and reliable to calculate the exact GPS crossing time of the car on the virtual GPS line. Accuracy is around 1/10 of second.

.....everything gone wrong that day?    we still have our only marshall that can read that printed time on our request, check on his list and tell HQ...(4th level of backup!)

Electronic TC and timing cards

In rallies and any regularity event,  timecards are still made of paper. But it wont be like that for ever.

Sporttraxx is introducing Electronic Cards with unique ID to be used at Time Control points and Passage Controls with the new portable GPS/GPRS/ID reader.

What a traditional  time card cannot proof 100% is the exact moment  the competitor shows up at TC. Indeed the timekeeper is collecting the time card and is stopping the time. And he is writing the times. Sometimes with mistakes or misunderstandigs.

By an electronic credit card size TAG or a rubber wristwatch TAG, the competitor will become the only responsible of his timestamping. He approaches the TC desk or tower and "touches" the Sporttraxx electronic TC getting an acoustic acknowledge..

With the MHN certification .

• Me      as  there is only one owner of that unique ID tag
• Here   as GPS is providing the location
• Now    as GPS is providing the time

The timestamp data is sent live to HQ and allows immediate calculations of penalties.

A traditional printing clock as Alge Timy or Tag Heuer, can be connected to the Sporttraxx electronic TC Device and provide local printings.

Sporttraxx timing solution is based on following hardware:

• Stand-alone Laser Barriers with integrated transmission modem (GPRS), GPS core and special coded radio transmitter, connected to official printing clocks (Alge or Tag Heuer).

Once setup in the proper location, the device starts sending its own GPS coordinates, calibrating the future crosschecks of the software in HQ.  As soon as a car is cutting the beam, the connected clock will print the official time on paper and the internal GPRS modem will send it to HQ. In same time the device is radio transmitting to the passing car that it has crossed that timing line. Data are always saved in internal memory and can be retrieved anytime.

To avoid wrong timing contacts due to walking through people, stones or dust, additional parallel laser beams can be added. Modular connections allow up to 5 in-line beams.

Can be used both on Start line (to detect and transmit jump starts) and Flying Finish. Internal backup battery avoids loss of GPS validity and GPRS disconnection when external power is missing.

laser light barrier with mirror

additional laser beam

laser class 2 beam

Sporttraxx uses high reflection mirrors

oversized panel (for alignment only)

visible red laser beam

• Traxxer RX is the tracking device on the vehicle. The internal radio receiver recognizes when the car is passing on the timing line. That  value, with its ID, is sent to Result office. By that, the software in HQ sets the combination Time/Competitor. The internal logger records and eventually resends when remotely retrieved, the GPS data (Virtual Timing Line) to Result office.
  

• Handheld TC device is the new portable Time Stamping device Located on TC desk, on tripods/towers or brought by marshall directly to the car. The codriver, using his own unique TAG (creditcard size or wristwatch), touches the device and timestamps his TC time. That GPS based time is sent by the GPRS straight to HQ, associated to the position achieved by the internal GPS core. Time, position and ID data are also logged in the unit. TC printouts are available realtime at HQ. This device can work with or without external clock. Clocks are used if paper printout is requested at TC. Two versions are available: long life version with 10 hours battery + connection to printing clock and smaller 5 hours version with reduced size and weight. Can be used also for flying PC control.