bar codes?
I work in a calibration lab, and have for 40 yrs, and the greatest inovation we have:
the bar code reader. makes life so much easier. and now they have apps for your phone.
so, for a mt track, tallying the results at finish line,
what about a clear track at the finish line and a bar code reader under it?
sticker bar code on the underside of the car
thoughts?
dr
Discussion
Maybe combining what the ID cars have for info on the chips in the chasis with a customized
bar code reader that works alongside a pre existing start gate/finish timer set up could work.
Would a barcode reader be fast enough to scan the cars? And when multiple cars pass at the same time? I suppose you'd also have to insure the stickers stay flat and readable on the bottom of the car...just seems like a lot of room for error.
This sounds like a great idea that would certainly make finishing easier but I just wonder if the technology can keep up. If you think it can, then go for it and see what you can find out. Maybe all these laser break beams and stuff aren't needed and all we need is a barcode scanner.
Thinking about the underside of pretty much any diecast car and I'd have 2 concerns: 1.) Most chassis have details cast into them, making stickers not lie flat (harder for the scanner to read uneven barcodes?), and 2.) You'd have to make sure the sticker is placed exactly the same distance from the front of each car and as far forward as possible (or at least perfectly centered) to make close finishes accurately register. But then some cars often spin and finish backwards, sideways, or even on their sides/roofs.
- Peobably chipping the car would be easier than barcoding it. At least the chip would be consistent, no matter the orientation of the car. — SpyDude
- I agree about the bar code placement, and would add, I am also worried a sticker may drag catch on track sections and transitions. I think the finish line would still need a camera for "official final results", but it would be cool on a long track to keep track of times at different parts of the coarse — dr_dodge
- the rfid is also an interesting idea, but would putting it inside the diecast casting block or foul the signal — dr_dodge
- Tack it inside the front window? — SpyDude
I was thinking RFID as well, but I'm not sure about the positional accuracy. What if you comibined the standard light gate with the RFID tags. That should give you a finish order with precise timing.
Fun to think about. Could also lend itself to split timing.
We use SICK upc scanners at work (bottling facility) that can scan up to 400 codes a minute without an issue. They're typically 110v, but you can find 24v models that work just as well. Usually they have a wide enough beam that sticker placement wouldn't be an issue. Hooking up to a laptop shouldn't be a problem, either (you can buy cheap scanners that connect easily). Aquiring the stickers and loading them into a sorting program would probably be the biggest pain.
They already have ID cars, so the idea isn't really innovative.