SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/485293
IMPROVING SAFETY SOURCES: SPOT FINDMESPOT.COM VOLOCORE WWW.VOLOCORE.COM/ GPS SAFETY TRACKING AT THE NEXT LEVEL The Cloud-based Volocore command center is a full-featured orchestration system which allows race organizers and safety workers to get a real-time snapshot of the race from a phone, tablet, PC or almost any internet-enabled device. The system has features allowing the organizers to import a GPS race course, add, remove, resize checkpoints, and create speed zones that make up the framework of a competitive race. From a scoring and timing stand point, the system calculates penalty assessments based on GPS log data as well as live tracking systems. It can also correlate the different tracks to look for missteps on the racer's part and provide clarity for disputes during the race. For missing or disputed data points, the system has redundancy built- in so it can overlay all available data sources, guaranteeing the most accurate results are being recorded and analyzed. Live tracking via Volocore's new system can process hundreds of different SPOT units and publish them without the servers crashing. The ability to search for racers, add individuals or entire classes enables a new level of interaction with fans while providing an added safety dynamic. Their idea was to design, build and prove a system that can handle failures in satellite connectivity, as well enabling an unprecedented level of communication back to the racer and workers. From a safety perspective, this system provides unique advancements that no other system is doing today. CURRENT TESTING LOOKS POSITIVE The company has been testing its Pass Alert feature in the California desert with The Kurt Caselli Foundation and Ivan Ramirez from team KTM off-road. Volocore's system has options for both automatic and manual pass alerts, where the system knows which type of vehicles are approaching each other. A race promoter will be able to control who receives automatic alerts as well as give the option for a racer initiated alert. In a racer initiated alert, the co-driver or driver can press a button and alert the other slower vehicles of the impending pass, giving them time to safely get out of the way. All different types of crashes and scenarios are being tested, recorded and transmitted back to a base station for research. "We took a perfectly good motorcycle, ADDITIONAL SAFETY FEATURE WILL BE THE ABILITY TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN A FASTER MOVING VEHICLE LIKE AN UNLIMITED TROPHY TRUCK IS APPROACHING, AND WHEN A MOTORCYCLIST IS APPROACHING ANOTHER DOWNED VEHICLE TO PROVIDE AID OR ADDITIONAL COMMUNICATION TO EMERGENCY RESPONDERS. strapped several sensors to it, and pinned the throttle. The KTM 450 EXC just rocketed into the desert", said Volocore founder Brad Baker. Volocore is committed to bringing the product to market in 2015, with production model testing currently ongoing. "These tests are going to fundamentally change safety in remote off-road racing" said Volocore co-founder JP Dupin. "Our goal is to not only increase the accuracy of location of vehicles as well as add a critical safety aspect that has been missing since Baja racing started in the 60s." SJ 075 SCORE JOURNAL