With the big announcement of RaceCapture and Podium, you’re probably wondering what’s inside the little black box. Read on if you crave specs and details, because we do!

Learning about the new RaceCapture and the Podium platform for the first time? Be sure to sign up for the RaceCapture pre-order at http://podium.live!

 

RaceCapture streams high performance GPS, CAN/OBD-II and accelerometer+gyro data right into your smartphone over a high speed wireless link- all in a single compact package powered by your OBD-II port.

High Performance GPS Module

Up to 50Hz native capability

RaceCapture shares the same high performance GPS module as RaceCapture/Pro, using the powerful 167-channel Venus 8 engine supporting up to 50Hz update rate in increments of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50Hz. From our testing 10Hz offers the best balance of performance and accuracy, where 25 and 50Hz modes work optimally in exceptional GPS conditions with horizon to horizon visibility of the sky and minimal terrain and obstructions.

High accuracy track mapping

With 2.5 meters CEP accuracy you’ll get precise track mapping, letting you see and compare the line taken on every lap.

6 axis accelerometer+gyro with magnetic compass

Similar to RaceCapture/Pro, we use the Invensense MPU-9250 – a precision 9 axis device offering 3D accelerometer plus 3D gyro and a 3D magnetic compass.  We’ll enable the full 6 axis of accelerometer and gyro and expose one channel of the magnetic compass for heading, providing a 7 channel experience.

Prove you’re the drift… or grip king

This powerful accelerometer provides 3D G-force measurements up to 2G plus a 3D gyro that measures Yaw (oversteer / understeer), Pitch (brake dive / acceleration squat) and Roll (lean in corners). You’ll get tons of dynamic data just from this sensor, bundled right into RaceCapture’s compact enclosure.

But my phone already has an accelerometer!

That’s great! But we feel it’s insufficient. Not all phones and tablets share the same hardware, and not all have 3D gyros. By including an accelerometer+gyro in RaceCapture you can rely on consistent, high performance data. Plus, there’s just a one-time calibration needed after installation – all you need to do is throw your phone onto your dashboard mount and hit the track!

CAN bus connectivity to OBD-II

In 2008 CAN bus for OBD-II became the standard for all road cars (excluding heavy trucks) – most manufacturers were compliant on the required date, but some anti-procrastinating OEMs got on board early, with some Ford, GM and Porsche and Mazda models providing support as early as 2005. Compared to the legacy OBD-II protocol, CAN provides the fastest performance with baud rates supporting 250K or 500K baud and observed OBD-II sample rates up to 200Hz, depending on manufacturer and ECU.

Standard and extended OBD-II channels

Out of the box RaceCapture will support querying SAE standard OBD-II channels such as RPM, engine temperature, throttle position and more. You’ll get even more interesting OEM specific data through the ability to query extended PIDs – an advanced view will let you drop down to the metal and specify low level parameters so you can get extra information from the ECU as seen in the Mazda MX5, Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ and the very special Mitsubishi Evo Mode 23 support.

Yeah, yeah- CAN bus rocks, but my car only supports the older protocol

Your car may be not be the newest on the block, but it’s probably still awesome. Hell, I still drive an BMW E36 M3, and when the cooling system isn’t blowing up and the rear shock mounts aren’t knocking I still love driving it, especially with the upgraded quick ratio steering rack from the M coupe, all while I ignore errors on the OBC… But I digress.

RaceCapture will support older protocols using a legacy OBD-II to CAN bridge. This bridge will look like an oversized, right-angle OBD-II plug with the embedded smarts to make older cars appear as if it has a modern CAN bus protocol. Using this adapter RaceCapture will just think it’s talking to a newer car and be none the wiser. It won’t be all roses, unfortunately, as some legacy OBD-II protocols are extremely slow. A particular example is the ISO9141-2 protocol implemented by my BMW E36 M3: the OBD-II implementation will only allow a few updates per second, and our CAN bridge will only transfer data as fast as the ECU allows. Other manufacturers may provide a better experience, and some data is better than no data, natch.

 

But my car doesn’t have OBD-II!

If you’re asking this question then we’ve done a crappy job socializing RaceCapture/Pro and its ability to directly integrate sensors. If so,  tell us – we need to know this stuff, and then be the first to tell your friends about it!

CAN bus hacking and beyond

Far beyond a dumb OBD-II dongle, RaceCapture is an ideal hacking tool for the connected race car. With open source firmware you’ll be able to map any CAN bus message to channel data and fuse it with high performance GPS and accelerometer/gyro sensor data, streaming over a high speed wireless link. Speaking of wireless…

High speed wireless interface to your smart device

Motorsports is a high performance world that needs high performance data, and high performance data begets high speed communication. In the world of smartphone and tablet connectivity, we have 3 basic choices:  Bluetooth classic (SPP), Bluetooth Low Energy, and WiFi. Bluetooth classic is a great choice for reasonably high speed wireless communications, and we already use it for RaceCapture/Pro. However, it’s only practical to support on Android- for iOS it’s exceedingly hard due to Apple’s mind-bogglingly restrictive MFI process.  Bluetooth Low Energy is equally supported on both platforms but is a non-starter due to its slow transfer rate, so save BTLE for the low-performance OBD-II dongles.

This leaves WiFi. WiFi matches the performance levels demanded by RaceCapture and is supported equally well on Android and iOS. RaceCapture will provide a WiFi interface that can both act as an access point as well as join an existing access point, providing maximum flexibility.

Works with the RaceCapture App

As an expansion of the RaceCapture family, you’ll use the same RaceCapture app currently used by racers running RaceCapture/Pro – meaning you’ll get all of the dashboard, predictive lap time, upcoming analysis features, and real time telemetry including sharing to the upcoming Podium platform! Check it out today in the Android Play Store or the Amazon App Store.

 

 

Pre-Ordering Soon

RaceCapture will soon be available for pre-order. Sign up here to hear about it first!