For the up coming race at Thunderhill, we are going to try to utilize some the capabilities of the
WifiLapper system that is in the D. The two features we will try to include are some car condition data points and live car to pit communication.
The first goal will be to add some additional car condition data points including, oil temperature, cooling temperature, and fuel level into the reported data. To accomplish this the plan will be to connect the smart phone in the car to an Android IOIO card and IOIO card connected to select sensors in the car. This is an ambushes plan, so there will be some teething issues. But once the communication is established we will be able added additional levels of communication in the future.
The second upgrade will be with the Car to pit communication. In the last race, we ran into a problem with the data collection. Without downing loading data routinely only 30 minutes of lap data was collected. When driver stints are measured in hours and not minutes collecting this data became a problem. We did attempt a w ifi connection to extend over the track, but the condition at Sonoma was not inductive to a good wifi network coverage. Thus the evaluation of the system was a bit mixed. So, for this race, we will try a cell phone connection system. To accomplish this, a cell network will be established in the car for the smartphone to connect to. Data then can be collected in the pits by a network connected computer. The result is hoped to be able to collect and monitor the condition of the D every lap.
Well, at least those are the best laded plans.
