Hello, I am fairly new to the whole AutosportLabs ecosystem, but not new to data and racing. I recently got done putting together the latest build and decided to go with the new RCT Mk3 to try and cover a few bases at once.
My setup:
RCT Mk3
RPi w/touchscreen running the RC App, connected via USB (Using this purely as a digital dash to see predictive timing and live sensor data)
ShiftX v2
All talking to a KPro v4 via CAN
One of the problems I am having issues with is recording data consistently. I went with the RCT over the RCP due to timing, and at the time wasn't completely aware that the RCT did not have any internal logging capabilities. But, now I'm here and trying to figure out the best solution to ease my workflow.
My goals:
To be able to record data and review easily after each session, some other soft requirements are to not have it record to the RPi (getting data off of it is a pain, and I would like to minimize the need for dynamic read/writes if possible), and to be able to review data on my laptop between sessions.
What has currently worked:
Connect my iPhone to the RCT via wifi (with the RCT acting as an access point) and run the RC app on the phone with the logging turned on in that instance of the app. This has worked 2/3 events so far, but is not consistent enough that I want to rely on it. Also, pulling the data off of an iPhone is not the most straightforward affair. I also learned the hard way that the RC app must be open AND the phone unlocked for recording of data to occur, this means I have to try and juggle the phone into my firesuit pocket without accidentally tapping the screen and exiting the app, and make sure the screen is facing outward so my leg doesn't trigger any touches on the screen either. Less than ideal by my standards.
Other configurations I have tried:
Connect my iPhone to the RCT via wifi (RCT acting as access point) and also turn on streaming to Podium in the iPhone app. I was hoping this would bypass the need to pull the data straight from the phone and allow laptop analysis quicker. This does not seem to work since the iPhone does not realize the wifi connection isn't providing internet connectivity, so it fails to connect to Podium, even though it has a good LTE connection.
Next things to try:
- Change the wifi mode of the RCT to use the phone as a hotspot, I don't believe this will work though since the RCT isn't the one streaming to Podium, it is the app. The only workaround I can think of for this is to connect the RPi to my phone via wifi hotspot and then have the RPi app stream to Podium over that connection, but that seems overly complicated (lots of points of failure).
- Get an LTE hotspot and have both the RCT and phone on the same network so the phone can be the one streaming to Podium over its wifi connection while also talking to the RCT (pretty sure this won't work as the network interface to the RCT seems to be dependent on specific address/port configuration which would not be the same with it as a client to another router, plus I'm not sure the phone app would even be able to talk to it in this configuration).
How have other people successfully offloaded data when using an RCT? Hopefully I'm missing an easy solution to this, let me know what you've done and what works/fails for you!
Getting Data off RaceCapture/Track
Re: Getting Data off RaceCapture/Track
Hi, for best results streaming live telemetry using an iPhone, you'll want to use a common hotspot in the car, where both RCT and the iPhone (or iPad) can connect to it, and then broadcast telemetry via that connection.
Yes, you'll need to have the app running in the foreground for it to work correctly; a windshield mount is helpful, and then you can also see your lap times.
You should also be able to export data to your local phone and then move it from your device using a file sharing app like iFunBox https://www.i-funbox.com/en/index.html via the usb cable.
Let us know what you find out!
Yes, you'll need to have the app running in the foreground for it to work correctly; a windshield mount is helpful, and then you can also see your lap times.
You should also be able to export data to your local phone and then move it from your device using a file sharing app like iFunBox https://www.i-funbox.com/en/index.html via the usb cable.
Let us know what you find out!
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roflcopter
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:23 pm
Re: Getting Data off RaceCapture/Track
I have done more more testing and have some more results/questions...
First off, the method I had previously used successfully to record to my iPhone with it connected via Wifi to the RCT, then export via iFunBox seems to be broken now, the recordings I get in the iPhone app seem to have incorrect data and rarely show a completed lap. The data going to the RPi in the car (over USB from the RCT) seems to be correct since it is showing correct predictive timing, and lap times.
Once I ran into that issue I decided to just record straight to the RPi via the app and leave the iPhone out the setup. In this configuration I did successfully record a session with proper laps, but I have lots of weird looking data where it seems the canbus data from the ECU is missing small patches here and there, I never saw this previously when using the iPhone to record.
In both cases I have logs where the position seems to be NULL for some period of time occasionally and that is why the laps aren't registering properly (the vehicle dot shows up in the lower left corner of the track map during review). I'm a bit confused with this.
First off, the method I had previously used successfully to record to my iPhone with it connected via Wifi to the RCT, then export via iFunBox seems to be broken now, the recordings I get in the iPhone app seem to have incorrect data and rarely show a completed lap. The data going to the RPi in the car (over USB from the RCT) seems to be correct since it is showing correct predictive timing, and lap times.
Once I ran into that issue I decided to just record straight to the RPi via the app and leave the iPhone out the setup. In this configuration I did successfully record a session with proper laps, but I have lots of weird looking data where it seems the canbus data from the ECU is missing small patches here and there, I never saw this previously when using the iPhone to record.
In both cases I have logs where the position seems to be NULL for some period of time occasionally and that is why the laps aren't registering properly (the vehicle dot shows up in the lower left corner of the track map during review). I'm a bit confused with this.
Re: Getting Data off RaceCapture/Track
RaceCapture generates CSV data that has empty fields when sample rates for different fields differ. Some tools/apps don't allow CSV data with empty fields.
If you have access to a Mac, you can download these tools ...
https://www.derman.com/Resources/Misc/C ... Otools.zip
... then use the "extractCSVdata.sh" command-line tool to do things like copy-forward missing values, eliminate entries that don't have values for fields you set as "required" ... and more ("extractCSVdata.sh -h" will show the help/documentation).
If you have access to a Mac, you can download these tools ...
https://www.derman.com/Resources/Misc/C ... Otools.zip
... then use the "extractCSVdata.sh" command-line tool to do things like copy-forward missing values, eliminate entries that don't have values for fields you set as "required" ... and more ("extractCSVdata.sh -h" will show the help/documentation).
Re: Getting Data off RaceCapture/Track
Hi, with the Raspberry Pi, you should try to upgrade to the latest firmware; we have a fix where USB data can sometimes have corruption.
https://www.autosportlabs.com/racecaptu ... re-2-19-1/
For iFunBox, are you seeing a case where you can't export data at all (you don't have access to the shared data)? Or is the data file you copied over corrupt? If you have an example file, please send a link to it here so we can review it.
https://www.autosportlabs.com/racecaptu ... re-2-19-1/
For iFunBox, are you seeing a case where you can't export data at all (you don't have access to the shared data)? Or is the data file you copied over corrupt? If you have an example file, please send a link to it here so we can review it.
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roflcopter
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:23 pm
Re: Getting Data off RaceCapture/Track
aUzer: The seemingly missing data is when trying to review using the RaceCapture App itself, either on the device that recorded it or after export/import to the PC.
brentp: Here is a log that got saved to my iPhone that seems to be having weird issues, the predictive timing was working fine for the whole session so I do not think it was a GPS issue: I also have another log from a full session at VIR that shows the trace being not lined up with the track when using the RaceCapture app for review, it's off by about half of the size of the track (lengthwise, not just shifted off-line a bit). That log is too large to upload apparently though, I have attached a screen shot to show what I mean:
brentp: Here is a log that got saved to my iPhone that seems to be having weird issues, the predictive timing was working fine for the whole session so I do not think it was a GPS issue: I also have another log from a full session at VIR that shows the trace being not lined up with the track when using the RaceCapture app for review, it's off by about half of the size of the track (lengthwise, not just shifted off-line a bit). That log is too large to upload apparently though, I have attached a screen shot to show what I mean:
- Capture.PNG (186.34 KiB) Viewed 14592 times