Raptor's Wiimote Sr Project -- Wiiqmate?

[maglito]

This message is for Raptor about his Wii mote data acquisition project.  I know he has plans to get the raw data out of the Wiimote for Physics experiments.  I didn't know if he would be interested in going further with it or if other SIUE students might want to go beyond those goals or if someone will pick up the open source code once he is done and use it for something like this, but I propose using his code to make a "Wiiqmate".

Some (pointless) background information as to why I would be interested in such a project:
When I first heard about Raptor's project I was instantly intrigued as I own a Wii and four Wii motes like many on this, but I also own a sports car with an accelerometer I installed with 0-5v analog output that then goes into a a USB labjack that allows a computer to read the voltage signals (there are now smaller and cheaper labjack like devices that I will be upgrading to shortly).  The premise was that I could use the 0-5 volt data from the accelerometer over RPM of the engine in a given gear (given constant traction) to plot my engine's torque curve to help me in tuning the car on the street without renting more time on expensive inertial dynometer machines (eg. dynojet).  The car is also outfitted with dual wideband O2 (also with 0-5v output) and dual Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors (thermocouples that are then amplified to 0-5v).  So, all the hardware is in place to tune my car on the street.  However, I never spent the time to actually log all the data and work on my car's tune.  It runs pretty well and it's nice to know I could fine tune the already custom (and very conservative) tune my car has now.  But, at least after reading the above you could understand why I'd be interested in a cheap and effective way to monitor accelerometer data in my car for not only one dimension (x), but having 2 or 3 datapoints (x, y, and even z) in realtime via bluetooth to my carPC or laptop.

The Traqmate:
My friend Collin (hornswoggler will be his SN if/when he joins this forum) owns (and is now a dealer for) a relatively expensive racing data acquisition system called "Traqmate".  This system uses GPS location and accelerometer (x and y) data to find out how well you are driving on any given circuit or track.  The system for your car is standalone and simply logs accelerometer and GPS data and secondarily gives you a small LCD screen to display things like lap times (you specify the location of the start/stop point by pressing a button on the device --basically specifying the GPS coordinate).  The lap times are then calculated by counting how long until your car gets back to that GPS coordinate location.  The device can store a certain number of minutes of "recorded" track time and has features like car and driver profiles to store each session under to keep track of who performed what session in what vehicle.  The device is then removed from the car (or a laptop is brought into the car) and the data files are downloaded onto the PC.  Then the files are viewed and analyzed with the traqview software.  Where you can playback driving sessions from an overhead view and see how hard you car is capable of turning, stopping and accelerating (in its different gears).  The theory is if you car is capable of turning at .7 Gs and you aren't using any of your traction to brake or accelerate and you notice during playback that you are only loading the car with .6 Gs on a given corner that you could be turning harder or "carrying more speed though the turn" -- the ultimate goal.  The traqmate is really an impressive system and the traqview software is really well thought out as well.  Unfortunately, the cost for the full package is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 dollars.  To a big budget racer, this is a small expense and worth every penny in the very valuable data it is able to relay to the driver in showing where he can push the car harder and to the automotive technician in pointing out the weak points of the car to be improved upon (acceleration, braking, suspension, tire compound, tire/wheel width, etc.)   The traqview software can even playback your session to an on screen Heads Up Display that can then be layed down over an car video camera session and once synced provides a really neat way to see the physics of what was going during your driving session.

Check out the traqmate at it's web page here:
http://www.traqmate.com

You can download the traqview software here for free and check it out along with session samples:
http://www.traqmate.com/products_traqview.php
(all session samples in a 97 M3 are those from Collin, I'm pretty sure).

Link to a badly compressed traqview HUD overlay of an in car video track session (perhaps Collin will give us a link to the original better quality version).
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4345257375504509382&hl=en

For the cost conscious "a few weekend track days a year" driver, like most I know, the traqmate is too much of an expense to be viable.  But, if someone had the utility to log their x and y accelerometer data along with the corresponding GPS coordinates (via cheap a USB or Bluetooth GPS adapter that can be read with existing open source projects) into a file...Wiiqmate!

Wiiqmate
The wiiqmate log file could then be converted into a traqview compliant .tqm file (this would assume anyone using this converter would donate money to traqmate for the use of their really great analysis software).  Or another option would be coordination with the traqmate guys for a purchase able version of the traqview software that could read the log files generated by wiiqmate.

The name wiiqmate might be obvious to some but I'll explain: I thought it was a good name because the user of this utility would obviously be cheap and probably knows someone with a traqmate.  They want to use their buddy's software and pack and secure into their car a separate wiimote, GPS device, and a PC instead of buying the really sleek integrated traqmate system. They'll also be weezing off the great software already written by traqmate people to analyze the data.  Thus, such a person could be considered a "weak" friend ala a wiiqmate.

If anyone is interested in taking on such a project please do post your progress to this thread.  If they want to see what types of analysis can be done with the output data they can look at this thread from some traqmate sessions Collin, myself and others made on a nearby track in Indiana:
http://www.cicenet.net/showthread.php?t=1231

You could also check out a real traqmate live just down the road as Collin and myself (if I am not traveling that weekend) might be participating in a track day at the Gateway International Raceway road course on April 26th and 27th with the NASA racing organization.  Collin never goes to a track day without his Traqmate.  We will both also surely be back at Putnam Park in Indiana May 17th and 18th with the same organization.

I hope my post inspires someone to take on this project that I would love to see come to fruition.  It really seems pretty simple to integrate raptors wii mote project's log files with an existing open source GPS logging project and write to one log file.  Then you either need to get the traqmate people to accept that file as input in a pay version of their traqview software or figure out how to convert that file to a format the traqview software would accept.

Cheers and keep this post updated with any comments, suggestions, questions or progress.

Thanks,
Anthony

P.S. Raptor or any other admin if you want to create a section on the forum for "Software Projects" and move this post there that would be cool (I can think of some other unrelated posts to make in that section too).

[raptor]

I apologize for waiting so long to get back with you, I have been on vacation.  If you like we could get together and discuss all of this sometime.  I too am a gear head and have thought of several automotive applications.  I'm not sure if we've met before or when you are usually around the EB.

Let me know,
Scott

[maglito]

I'm in the EB now in the CS lab.  Call me.

314-482-3213

It's Anthony from the open house BTW.