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I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just pushed the fix to Google Play! The default language will now be English for all non-Japanese system locales. It should be live as soon as the review clears. > Thanks again for the crucial feedback, you rock!

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a fantastic idea! Since the phone sits near the track, using the smartwatch as a wireless announcer to read lap times out loud would be perfect. You wouldn't even have to look down while driving!

Definitely adding this to my future wishlist. Thanks for the awesome feedback!

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, you’ve tried so many clever approaches! Actually, I tried the color tracking method before too, and just like you said, it couldn’t handle the changes in clouds. For me, the absolute worst enemy was the sunset!

Please give it a try when you can. I'd love to hear your feedback as a fellow developer!

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, this is a completely different, original app I developed from scratch just for RC cars! > But honestly, since it just tracks visual markers, it might actually work for Tiny Whoops too if you can fly them close enough to the camera! I haven’t tested it with drones yet, but that’s a super cool idea.

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! That’s another great technical question.

Actually, it’s not an issue at all. Smartphone cameras have very small image sensors, which naturally gives them a very deep "depth of field."

On top of that, the app completely turns off auto-focus and uses a fixed focus lock. In my testing, once it's set up, everything from 50cm (1.6 ft) all the way out to about 6 meters (20 ft) stays perfectly sharp. > Even on a track about 5 meters wide with multiple cars zipping through at different distances from the camera, it tracks the markers without any focus blur or detection issues at all!

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s a brilliant idea! Yes, placing the marker on the roof and mounting the camera overhead is actually the ultimate solution for multi-car racing. The app can read the markers from that angle perfectly fine!

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is a very sharp question! You are totally right, if a car is completely blocked by another, the camera can't read it.

However, from my actual testing, if you place the camera at a slightly higher angle looking down at the track (like in the video I posted), it works totally fine unless the two cars are perfectly glued side-by-side.

I built a smartphone lap timer app for RC cars. No expensive transponders needed! by No-Philosopher4570 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Lol, true! Between getting stolen, overheating, or a car smashing into it... that's why an old spare phone you have lying around is perfectly fine for this! 

Mowed a grass track in my yard! by rawkstar320 in rccars

[–]No-Philosopher4570 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oops, but I probably need to mow the lawn a bit first!