Five UCT students have developed a lap time recording system for the Western Province Karting Club (WPKC) using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that will save the club an estimated R300 000 over five years.
UCT`s "Breadbox Solutions" IS honours team took up the challenge of developing an alternative to the rented proprietary timing system the club was using at the Killarney racetrack.
"The proprietary system was expensive, but generic, which meant it did not allow karting officials to control how race results and championship tallies were updated or viewed," says project leader Shane Thorp.
The UCT students set to work to design a customisable software solution that would include a competitor database, quality control measures, and RFID tags and readers as used in some overseas race events like the Indy 500.
The result was SA`s first RFID-enabled race timing system that is interoperable with several hardware systems and uses locally produced passive RFID tags instead of expensive battery-powered transponders.
"We developed the software solution and conducted proof of concept demonstrations with model racing cars using RFID technology from Pretoria-based iPico Holdings that has been proven in high-speed time trials," says Thorp.
The Kronos solution will enable the WPKC to keep accurate records of all timed laps and events throughout the year as well as display results and forthcoming events on the Internet or the WPKC Web site.
The Kronos system complies with the South African Racing Regulations, and the students are hoping to implement it at the Killarney racetrack once it has passed the Motorsport South Africa evaluation before the start of the next kart racing season in February.
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