Fantastic Finish Line Photo at Syracuse Race Weekend

Post date: May 28, 2014 11:13:20 AM

The photo below was taken by a Logitech c270 USB camera triggered by CrossMgr from live RFID input from JChip.

The rider identification on the photo header was automatically written by CrossMgr based on the RFID tag with no manual intervention.

The camera can be purchased for about $35 and is simply plugged into the computer. The RFID reader triggers CrossMgr to take a photo of every rider crossing the finish line. Rider photos are instantly accessible in CrossMgr - a click away.

In this finish, the riders were doing about 40 mph (~60km/h).

Remarkably, the inexpensive USB camera was able to freeze the shot with excellent quality.

The spokes are visible, and it is even possible make out the brand name on the wheel rims.

CrossMgr correctly timed the photo based on the RFID time alone - no special hardware or photo-sensor.

For the price, this is an incredibly useful addition. Unlike finish line video, CrossMgr captures one frame, identifies the rider in it, writes it out with a meaningful file name, and makes it accessible from a click from the software. Searching through video is impractical and time consuming.

Although not yet at the frame rate of a high-speed camera, USB cameras continue to improve. The current capability can still resolve close finishes like this one, where #88 on the outside just nosed out #100.

Why not use a USB camera and CrossMgr to get finish line photos at your races?

Photo taken at Syracuse Race Weekend on May 17th, 2014. Thanks to Jon Rosen Systems.