im currently in the process of developing a race system for QuadCopters, however im having a little bit of trouble with the pole position part
im going to be using RFID coinchips to determine the drones position.
could someone point me in the right direction on how i can make a system which detects who is in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place ?
Regards
What sort of range do you need to read the sensors at ? Have you got a link to the devices that you have in mind to use ?
Presumably each quadcopter will be fitted with an RFID tag with a unique ID. In which case detecting each one as it passes the finish line should be easy but you may have problems in distinguishing between which one is in which place if more than one is in range at the same time.
@UKHeliBob
who
i need the range to be no more then 2 meters, as for distinguishing each drone the idea was to make the gate big enough for one drone to pass threw at a time, i know its not ideal but for now this will work for me.
as for the RFID Device i was looking at purchasing this one,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RDM8800-NFC-RFID-Module-13-56mHz-Read-Write-RF-Module-for-Arduino-uk-/400957125193?hash=item5d5ae83249
any advice ?
The use of a gate seems like a good idea but what range does that RFID card reader offer ? Assuming that it can read RFID tags reliably at a distance what happens when 2 or more are range at the same time I wonder ?
The reader that you linked to looks like it is designed to read a card placed close to or touching the reader which will not be the case with the tags on quadcopters. I assume that the RFID tag would be attached to the quad temporarily using something like a zip tie, The electrical and magnetic environment around a quadcopter is going to be quite noisy and could well affect the working of the RFID tag and reader.
Sorry to sound so negative. I am quite interested in the project as I build and fly multirotors, but I do foresee problems. Now, if you could arrange for the gate itself to be a coil of wire used as the RFID receiver antenna you might have more chance but that is hardly an off the shelf solution.
The idea of using agate to use as a reciever would be possible. to be honest it might be a better solution!!
im going to PM you as i have some ideas i do not wish to discus on the forums if that's OK ~:?
Where abouts are you based ? im in Ipswich, Suffolk and what do you fly ?
im in the process of building my new 250race quad
Nighthawk 250 carbon frame
Cobra 2300KV
DYS 30amp opto ESC
4 cell 2300
6x45 props
Spektrum DX6i
What about arranging for the drones to drop a little marker after they pass the finish line - then it would be easy to detect which marker lands first. If the pilot is foolish and drops his (there may be women pilots, but somehow I doubt it) marker before the finish line he gets no points.
Or what about using a video camera to detect the winning drone ?
There have been several Threads from people wanting to time cars or bikes in a race and I don't recall any that came up with a satisfactory Arduino-based solution.
...R
Most of our FPV races have more then 1 lap. also if we force our pilots to drop the coin / chip we would need a large mat to drop on as some of these drone's pass at 30/40-MPH
it has to be possible, at the moment ive got a system which clocks lap time and then best lap time.
ive just ordered a RFID module which i shall be doing some testing with but surley it cant be that hard to detect which ID has passed 1st/2nd/3rd/4th and display it on a lcd ?
ideally id like to have the following displayed on a lcd
| 1 | 70.5 | 52.0
| 3 | 90.2 | 59.9
| 2 | 70.6 | 51.9
| 4 | 99.9 | 80.1
P = Position
1-2-3-4 (Drone Tag, In order of pole position)
Last = Last lap time since passing threw gate
Best = Fastest Lap Time
im going to PM you
I have replied
mathewbuer:
Most of our FPV races have more then 1 lap. also if we force our pilots to drop the coin / chip we would need a large mat to drop on
It was not a very serious suggestion.
as some of these drone's pass at 30/40-MPH
Through a gate that is only large enough for one-at-a-time ? ?
And how long does that allow for reading the RFID chip ?
...R
how long does that allow for reading the RFID chip ?
40 mph is 58 ft/second, so not long.
It turns out that Matthew and I don't live too far apart and have a common interest in multirotors so may end up testing the feasibility of this together. I must say that at first sight it does not look like working using RFID as the timing mechanism, but it attractive as it would be easy to attach an RFID chip to a quadcopter.
the size of the gateway will be about 3foot wide, I'm not sure what the distance is for the RFID reader I've ordered, however i know some of them will work unto 2/3 meters, but i don't want to go out and order an expensive one if the cheaper ones will do the trick,
if the cheaper one don't work I've only lost £12 so its not the end of the world. the more expensive ones start from £100+
looking forward to this project its going to be an exciting one.... 
wish us luck.
At 17 m/s 2.5m represents about 0.15 secs in which to read the tag.
...R
ive written some code, im just waiting for the 20x4 to arrive and the RFID kit which should be here tues latest and then i guess we will find out
a. if the code ive written works
b. maximum distance chip can be read
c. maximum speed the chip can be read as passing.
bump ?
Have we found out the thinks in reply #12?
If not, why the bump?