Adaptation of lane watch to racing?

D

disquek

Well-known member
moden street cars have systems that alert you if there is a car next to you. Could this be easily adapted to a race car and would it be of value?

Kyle
 
Could it easily be adapted to a race car? Yes

Would it be worth it? Not in my opinion. There are too many other things going on in the cockpit that demand full concentration for a driver, a small idiot light on the dash or mirror wouldn't even be noticed by most.
 
I'm going to agree with Jason....but only to a point. He's probably too young to remember how we had to adjust to ABS on our street cars way back when. So I think adding it to race cars might pay off dividends in a few years after we get used to it.

In NO way am I advocating mandating this for us. It's just another piece of technology that might allow us to play together on track with fewer incidents.

Dayle
 
A friend, who races ChumpCar, built a blind spot monitor using an Arduino. He has LEDs by the side mirrors that light up when a car is in the blind spot.

I like my Wink mirror, no technology to fail.
 
That is an interesting and pretty cool idea Kyle. Who has used the systems on the street and are they any good?

As an aside my only experience with anything similar is my new company car, an Equinox, with some kind of lane alignment sensor beeper that is beyond annoying, and then some kind of collision avoidance devise that almost killed me. Recently I was in the left lane of the interstate, it was raining, I was moving 30mph faster than a trucker in the right lane ahead and with some other nut job trucker 15 feet off my bumper behind. All I could see in my mirror was the center of his bumper but I knew he was there. Somehow the Chevy sensed that truck ahead was in my lane even though it was not. AND THE EQUINOX CUT FUEL AND APPLIED THE BRAKES ALL BY ITSELF WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM ME! I was able to get back on the gas as the truck behind me went to full lock and started fish tailing back and forth in both lanes. In the end everything except my shorts survived. I am of the opinion it would be much better to just start teaching people to drive again. The cars are not ready to do it for us yet.
 
Curtis":1kxlf1oe said:
I am of the opinion it would be much better to just start teaching people to drive again. The cars are not ready to do it for us yet.
Click to expand...
This. Computers will kill all the humans as soon as you give them a chance. There are simply not enough processes and procedures programmed into a computer to account for every situation a human brain encounters on the road.
 
Alright .... Let's not start searching for Sarah Connor.

I was just thinking about a little led that came on when another car was in your blind spot. These LEDs are commonly in the side view mirrors on car equipt with these systems.

In a race car, I'd put the LEDs some place easier to see when you're looking forward.

I did a little reading, and these sensors/controllers are not simple. They are rangefinders that have to filter out noise, etc. So id bet you'd need to get both the sensors and the controller from an oem car.

Kyle
 
Big Bob Lentz has something like that in his GT2 car.

The little bitty wing in my GTL really screws up rearward visibility. I'd imagine that in his car with a smaller rear window and much larger rear wing, that camera is a big help.

Kyle
 
Is there a GCR rule that says you cannot have it?

What I don't want is a rule that says I have to have it.
 
disquek":1gwnp617 said:
I did a little reading, and these sensors/controllers are not simple. They are rangefinders that have to filter out noise, etc. So id bet you'd need to get both the sensors and the controller from an oem car.

Kyle
Click to expand...
Pardon the sarcasm, but here goes...
The human body has two of these rangefinders with an amazingly fast processor that can filter out all kinds of noise and nonsense. You can make it easier on the processor by placing additional mirrors inside the car that are plainly visible while looking forward.

I would rather not put my car (and my own) safety relying on a little blinky light that you HOPE is programmed right in order to tell me if I'm going to come down on someone else, possibly sending my car into the wall and sending me- or others- to the hospital.
 
I have thought of mounting two back-up cameras on the car. One on the rear and one on the right side. Thinking of positioning the displays in the "A" pillar area like you are looking in the rear-view mirror on that side. Still have interior rear-view mirror and one left-side but using the cam for right side and really being able to see straight behind. Having installed the inexpensive ($150 or less) cameras on numerous cars they seem to be reliable. (Only issue I have had is at one stoplight I get a video feed from the bar at a restaurant on the corner). I know that the instructions say to only power it with the reverse lights but I think that is a liability thing for the mfg. as they probably don't want you fixating on the rear cam when you should be driving forward.
 
Here's how the proximity sensors will work in real life...

Camera fades into cockpit view... Sebring, turn 17, prod cars nicely lined up under the bridge.

"GREEN GREEN GREEN!"

Left mirror lights up.

Beep, Beep, BANG "#*&%!"

Right mirror lights up.

Beep, Beep, BANG "@#%*!"

Left mirror lights up.

Beep, Beep, BANG "Christ on a 10-speed"

Red Flag and stop.

Beep Beep Beep Beep... Continues for 30 minutes.

Fade to black
 
disquek":18m9svys said:
Why do I bother ....

-Kyle
Click to expand...

I hear ya, bro. Don't be worn down the system as it exists here. It's winter and folks are crabby as its cold, dark, snowy, etc. As we live in the great white north, things can appear bleak at times. But soon the light will shine, temps will warm and all will be right as you CRUSH your GTL colleagues on the race tracks of life.

As with any technology, it takes time to learn to use it and adapt to that usage. Soon race cars might be battery, H2 or diesel powered and well need to learn to work with that too. I'm a chemist....technology good. Fear and apprehension.....bad.

Back to the topic at hand........

Dayle
 
Dayle Frame":3r20xbc7 said:
I'm a chemist....technology good. Fear and apprehension.....bad.
Click to expand...

I'm an electrical engineer.. Technology GREAT. letting technology do what my brain already does? Meh..

I consider this a 'nifty toy' that is certainly worth looking at, but I'm not sure I'd rely on it for much more than a cursory inspection. The problem is I often race other cars close enough that this thing would be going nuts and it would quickly become another nuisance in the cockpit that I would ignore. However, there will always be those times where another car sneaks up on you and you're happy something was there to warn you. I'm just not sure how much more useful it would be than being aware of your mirrors to begin with. (I race with enough guys that only look straight ahead and chop me off in every corner possible... The last thing I want them to do is rely on a blinky light on the dash to tell them they have room to chop me when it's obvious I'm closing on them pretty darn fast and they'd better NOT come down..) That's where the range and calibration of these little sensors would really come into play. it's one thing if there's a slow closing speed and these things can see 10'. it's another thing when there's a fast closing speed and these can only see 10'. you'd have less than a second for "Beep, Beep, BANG "#*&%!""
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top