Track directory

Diecast Remote Raceway

Total length
15'
Style
Drag strip
Lanes
2

Details

  • Style: Drag strip
  • Total length: 15 ft.
  • Lanes: 2
  • Built by: tqmaker

About

The Diecast Remote Raceway project consists of two, internet connected, race tracks that allow my grandson and me to race Hot Wheels against each other from our respective houses. Each track has a 3D printed automated Starting Gate that releases cars and a 3D printed Finish Line that detects when a car completes the race in each lane. The Finish Line sends lane completion messages back to the Starting Gate via Bluetooth. The Starting Gates coordinate the start of a race, then exchange lane times and results via a node.js Coordinator application running on a Linux server in my den (it has a static IP). In the future, I'll provide details on hosting the Controller in a cloud service provider (probably Google's GCP). A small LCD screen provides a UI and displays race results.

The Starting Gate houses a Raspberry Pi Zero W that implements the race logic and UI.  The Finish line has an ESP32 Arduino board connected to IR emitter:receptor pairs under each lane to sense race completion.  Upon start up, each component contacts the Controller to check for software updates.  If a newer version is found, it is downloaded and installed before startup.

Participants build tracks with an agreed upon number of track sections, then join a circuit to race against each other. Each track can contain 1 to 4 lanes. The race coordinator is designed to run races with an arbitrary number of tracks, but has only been tested with two.  The results display on the tiny 1.3" LCD currently only handles two, 2-lane tracks.

All STL files for 3D printing, software and instructions can be found on the github page: https://github.com/tquiggle/Diecast-Remote-Raceway

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