Blogs
People out there are really creative. Trackdays and Telemetry

People out there are really creative. Trackdays and Telemetry

February 24, 2025

TL;DR Cool geodata with a GoPro, an e36 and VK-162 sensor

Intro

You never know what people is up to until you ask and listen.

Thats what happened to me during a wedding.

I got the chance to catchup with a friend who was into car racing, and it seems he was into trackdays and records its BMWe36 telemetry.

Which is a master piece for 6 cylinder and a great place to practice what you lean in great books about practical mechanics like the Arias Paz

Trackday and GoPro MetaData

By the end of last year, a friend got the chance to do this:

And apparently, it was all recorded with a Go Pro!

So…we can do our GoPro telemetry trick

Which basically tells us a lot about speeds recorded by GoPro GPS on the 3 video parts which were recorded at 4K30:

You can also open it with Google Colab: Open in Google Colab

Max Speed: 41.35 m/s (148.86 km/h) Average Speed: 22.03 m/s (79.30 km/h) Median Speed: 21.62 m/s (77.84 km/h)

Max Speed: 40.74 m/s (146.65 km/h) Average Speed: 22.13 m/s (79.66 km/h) Median Speed: 21.24 m/s (76.46 km/h)

Max Speed: 41.16 m/s (148.18 km/h) Average Speed: 21.30 m/s (76.68 km/h) Median Speed: 19.88 m/s (71.57 km/h)

GoPro Metadata Speed trackday

BMW E36 and Canbus

Six in line cilynders of pure joy.

This project ESP32 based and json configurable sounds just amazing:

Gauge.S is all-car datalogger and development board.

For the future…maybe a contactless brake temperature system?

We can, with a MLX Sensor!

MLX90614 with a PiMLX90614 with a Pi
Infrared Temperature Sensor Project
Data Chat RepositoryData Chat Repository
Source Code for DB Chat with Langchain
ELM32 vs ESP32 📌

It’s important to clarify that the ELM327 and ESP32 are fundamentally different types of electronic components, although they can be used together in automotive and other applications.

ELM327:

  • Purpose:
    • The ELM327 is a microcontroller chip (or, more commonly, a device based on that chip) designed to interface with a vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics II (OBD-II) system.
    • It translates the complex OBD-II protocols into simpler serial data that can be read by other devices, such as smartphones, laptops, or other microcontrollers.
    • Essentially, it’s a bridge between your car’s diagnostic system and other electronic devices.
  • Functionality:
    • It reads diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), displays sensor data (like engine temperature, RPM, etc.), and allows for some basic vehicle parameter monitoring.
    • It handles various OBD-II protocols (CAN, ISO, etc.).
  • Common Use:
    • Used in OBD-II scanners and diagnostic tools.

ESP32:

  • Purpose:
    • The ESP32 is a low-cost, low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC) microcontroller with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.
    • It’s a general-purpose microcontroller that can be programmed to perform a wide range of tasks.
  • Functionality:
    • It can process data, control other devices, and communicate wirelessly.
    • It’s used in IoT (Internet of Things) devices, home automation, and many other applications.
  • Common Use:
    • Used in various projects needing wifi or bluetooth connectivity, and general purpose microcontroller functions.

Similarities:

  • Both are microcontrollers or devices containing microcontrollers.
  • Both can be used in automotive-related projects. For example, an ESP32 can be used to receive and display data from an ELM327.

Differences:

  • Primary Function:
    • ELM327: Specifically designed for OBD-II communication.
    • ESP32: A general-purpose microcontroller with wireless capabilities.
  • Connectivity:
    • ELM327: Primarily communicates via serial protocols (often through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi adapters that are bundled with ELM327 based devices).
    • ESP32: Has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
  • Application:
    • ELM327: Primarily used for vehicle diagnostics.
    • ESP32: Used in a wide range of applications.

In essence:

  • An ELM327 helps you “talk” to your car’s computer.
  • An ESP32 is a versatile computer that can do many things, including receiving and processing the information from an ELM327.

Therefore, they are often used in conjunction with each other.

For example, an ESP32 could be used to receive data from an ELM327, then send that data to a smartphone or a cloud server via Wi-Fi.

More Software for Track

  1. Harris Lap Timer
  2. Gauge 5S for BMW
  3. Dashware

Synchronizes data from applications with a camera recording

What about PhyPhox

ℹ️
Sometime ago, I was tinkering with PhyPhox

And lately…I recorded how it feels (the data behind) an airplane take-off:

ffmpeg -i IMG_5294.MOV -ss 00:03:35 -to 00:05:25 -c copy output.MOV
More Video Tricks ↗

How does it look the data?

You guessed it, you can process PhyPhox Data with Python:

You can also open it with Google Colab: Open in Google Colab

PhyPhox PostPhyPhox Post
Physical experiments with a Phone
Route Tracker RepositoryRoute Tracker Repository
Source Code PhyPhox Airplane EDA

FAQ

CANBUS VS ETHERLOOP

GPS RPi IoT Project - GPS Data (VK-162) with Apache Superset

ToDo list

  • Job Done!
    • Setup BI - Superset
    • Hardware Checks
    • Connecting everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7cJ59sixpk

Apache Superset Setup

Apache Superset is a Free BI Web Tool that we can use with our RPi projects locally.

git clone https://github.com/apache/superset.git
cd superset

docker compose -f docker-compose-non-dev.yml up -d

#git checkout 3.0.0
#TAG=3.0.0 docker compose -f docker-compose-non-dev.yml up

Then, just use Superset with its UI at: http://localhost:8088/login/

Desktop View{: width=“972” height=“589” } DHT22 connection to a Raspberry Pi 4

Default credentials are: admin/admin

  • Job Done!
    • Setup BI - Superset
    • Hardware Checks
    • Connecting everything

Sensors

Comercial Sensors

Software

FAQ

Apache Supserset DS’s and API

PhyPhox

A website for a Moto Blogger!BI Tools for the AI era