Impressions of the AIM SmartyCam
11-19-2009, 07:30 PM
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Impressions of the AIM SmartyCam
I know there have been some discussions recently on the SmartyCam and I'm seriously considering buying this because of the fact it's a GPS data unit with built in camera. The reason why I'm considering this unit above all others is because I can use it in my car for time trials and my daughter can use it when she races karts. We have 2 MyChron4 units one for her steering wheel on the kart (see avatar) and an extra one from her old kart. This display unit can just go into my car and I can get real time feedback from the Smartycam unit on track.
I've had a demo unit of the Trakmate in my car, but according to a distributor, they don't recommend the trakmate for karts because the GPS unit is not able to make a track map of tracks that small. He actually recommended the AIM system eventhough he doesn't sell it.
After checking out the AIM website and taking a look at the video/data it looked really good. They showed GT3 Cup cars on Monza (IIRC) and a kart race -- all in Europe.
Two weeks ago a rep from AIM came to the club race and installed a depo race on my daughter's kart for both heat races and main race. The unit is really compact and near military spec with a 30 meter limit under water for those that like race in the rain or do scuba diving and want to take video.
The unit has a VERY SMALL LCD display on the top of the camera to gauge where you are shooting video and small buttons to control things. I didn't touch the unit as the AIM rep was doing his usual thing. He had a number of thumb drives around his neck and updated the MyChron4 dash display software while he was at it. The only problem is that we had a max rev range of 15,000 for our display, but it is now adjustable to every 2000 revs, so we've had to chose the 16,000 top rev range for her kart which could effect our choice of gears.
The SmartyCam has an internal lithium battery that is supposed to last about 5 hours. It records on a microSD card of 8MB or 16 MB variety and can record up to 2 hours each.
I nearly bought one on the spot, but wanted to see the results first as asked the rep that depoed the unit to send me the results.
I recently got 2 DVDs from AIM: one with a DVD that can be seen on a stand alone DVD player and the other to be seen on a computer.
The video for the DVD player wasn't as good as I thought it would be. My DVD Player isn't HD but it has upconverting and my TV is HD, so I was a little disappointed in that.
Karts have EXTREME levels of vibration and this particular track is really bumpy leading to a video that bounced. There is no doubt that in a car application it would be much smoother.
The data on screen could not be seen completely as the revs or the lap time and G meter were partially off screen. Almost useless on TV.
The other DVD for use in the computer could not been seen... initially. I had to download a VLC program off the internet (Free at videolan.org). After that I could see it.
The video was better and the revs, speed, lap timer and g meter could be seen all within the context of the video on screen. However, I did notice a couple things.
1. One one of the 3 races, the speed was not correct as it was 20 MPH slower than it should have been.
2. For the main event race, the video, sound and data on screen was not in sync.
I had no control over what AIM sent me, however, I would have liked to have seen a track map on screen and the ability to go into the data and see where she was braking and turning in.
For the price, which is about $1000, I don't know if I see the value based on what I've seen so far. Perhaps the data I didn't see would be more valuable to me, but I thought I'd share what is a new product to the US market.
I've had a demo unit of the Trakmate in my car, but according to a distributor, they don't recommend the trakmate for karts because the GPS unit is not able to make a track map of tracks that small. He actually recommended the AIM system eventhough he doesn't sell it.
After checking out the AIM website and taking a look at the video/data it looked really good. They showed GT3 Cup cars on Monza (IIRC) and a kart race -- all in Europe.
Two weeks ago a rep from AIM came to the club race and installed a depo race on my daughter's kart for both heat races and main race. The unit is really compact and near military spec with a 30 meter limit under water for those that like race in the rain or do scuba diving and want to take video.
The unit has a VERY SMALL LCD display on the top of the camera to gauge where you are shooting video and small buttons to control things. I didn't touch the unit as the AIM rep was doing his usual thing. He had a number of thumb drives around his neck and updated the MyChron4 dash display software while he was at it. The only problem is that we had a max rev range of 15,000 for our display, but it is now adjustable to every 2000 revs, so we've had to chose the 16,000 top rev range for her kart which could effect our choice of gears.
The SmartyCam has an internal lithium battery that is supposed to last about 5 hours. It records on a microSD card of 8MB or 16 MB variety and can record up to 2 hours each.
I nearly bought one on the spot, but wanted to see the results first as asked the rep that depoed the unit to send me the results.
I recently got 2 DVDs from AIM: one with a DVD that can be seen on a stand alone DVD player and the other to be seen on a computer.
The video for the DVD player wasn't as good as I thought it would be. My DVD Player isn't HD but it has upconverting and my TV is HD, so I was a little disappointed in that.
Karts have EXTREME levels of vibration and this particular track is really bumpy leading to a video that bounced. There is no doubt that in a car application it would be much smoother.
The data on screen could not be seen completely as the revs or the lap time and G meter were partially off screen. Almost useless on TV.
The other DVD for use in the computer could not been seen... initially. I had to download a VLC program off the internet (Free at videolan.org). After that I could see it.
The video was better and the revs, speed, lap timer and g meter could be seen all within the context of the video on screen. However, I did notice a couple things.
1. One one of the 3 races, the speed was not correct as it was 20 MPH slower than it should have been.
2. For the main event race, the video, sound and data on screen was not in sync.
I had no control over what AIM sent me, however, I would have liked to have seen a track map on screen and the ability to go into the data and see where she was braking and turning in.
For the price, which is about $1000, I don't know if I see the value based on what I've seen so far. Perhaps the data I didn't see would be more valuable to me, but I thought I'd share what is a new product to the US market.
11-19-2009, 08:20 PM
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The .avi codec they use is not on any computer I've run them on yet so the VLC program is the choice wihtout downloading a bunch of codec packs hoping you get the right one. Also VLC can handle much larger files without having issues like some of the other players so it's a good thing to have around.
As for the issues you've had. The screen size. Not sure what is going on there, I'm gonna guess that when they converted it to DVD use they cut the widescreen edges off and that got the 'dash' cutoff. As for the quality. I have yet to find a program that converts an .Avi file to a good looking DVD movie. Lots of quality loss in the few programs I've used. If anyone has any recommendations I'd be happy to learn them.
Also the quality of the video can be changed on the camera. The high level looks better than anything I've had out of a ChaseCam by a little bit. The lower quality wasn't so great but you had more recording time.. On the computer disc, what were the file size:video lengths. That will give me an idea of what level it was set to record.
As for your final points, 1. I've only seen speed issues where there is a weak GPS signal and that has only happened in one car where the camera was down between two carbon fiber seats. 2. Never had that issue.
As to going in and reading the data, that's not part of the SmartyCam right now. All you get is the video file. One of the goals is a future software/firmware update that will pull a separate data file out for you. However with the Mycrhon4 you should be able to get that anyways.
As for vibrations, it's not about the amount but more the frequency. I've had the car on a couple of different open wheel cars which are on the same level as transmitting vibrations through a chassis and at certain frequencies you get some odd distortions on screen but that was always at lower RPMs. Once the cars were abouve 3-4K there were no issues. The key to the kart would be a good mount solid mounted to the chassis. I've seen great kart videos that worked because those two factors were dealt with.
As for the Traqmate. It records GPS information at the same rate as teh SmartyCam I believe. I'd give it a try in the kart. The biggest hurdle would be finding a way to mount it so you can get the accelerometer data.
As for the issues you've had. The screen size. Not sure what is going on there, I'm gonna guess that when they converted it to DVD use they cut the widescreen edges off and that got the 'dash' cutoff. As for the quality. I have yet to find a program that converts an .Avi file to a good looking DVD movie. Lots of quality loss in the few programs I've used. If anyone has any recommendations I'd be happy to learn them.
Also the quality of the video can be changed on the camera. The high level looks better than anything I've had out of a ChaseCam by a little bit. The lower quality wasn't so great but you had more recording time.. On the computer disc, what were the file size:video lengths. That will give me an idea of what level it was set to record.
As for your final points, 1. I've only seen speed issues where there is a weak GPS signal and that has only happened in one car where the camera was down between two carbon fiber seats. 2. Never had that issue.
As to going in and reading the data, that's not part of the SmartyCam right now. All you get is the video file. One of the goals is a future software/firmware update that will pull a separate data file out for you. However with the Mycrhon4 you should be able to get that anyways.
As for vibrations, it's not about the amount but more the frequency. I've had the car on a couple of different open wheel cars which are on the same level as transmitting vibrations through a chassis and at certain frequencies you get some odd distortions on screen but that was always at lower RPMs. Once the cars were abouve 3-4K there were no issues. The key to the kart would be a good mount solid mounted to the chassis. I've seen great kart videos that worked because those two factors were dealt with.
As for the Traqmate. It records GPS information at the same rate as teh SmartyCam I believe. I'd give it a try in the kart. The biggest hurdle would be finding a way to mount it so you can get the accelerometer data.
11-19-2009, 08:41 PM
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Just video overlay as it is right now(hoping for a firmware update soon to give separate files). If you already have an AIM logger it will record and use the GPS data from the SmartyCam.
11-19-2009, 08:45 PM
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Joe, I sent you a response to your PM before I read your post above.
So in essense your saying that the data with the SmartyCam is not as good as the TracMate at this point? Will the updates be included with the price for download or will that be in addition to? Is the benefit to the SmartyCam the video above all else and not necessarily the data?
Your right about the distortion. I didn't mention that in my original post because it seemed to be under very heavy g loads and at a particularly bumpy section of track, so I thougth it was normal considering the conditions.
You could be right about the GPS signal and the lower read out of speed. Obviously in a kart it's out in the open and it doesn't have any interference, but in the middle of the main race, the camera shut down because of low battery.
As far as mounting, the rep put on a ball joint type U-bolt attached to the seat strut and an Arm to extend beyond the seat. We wanted to get a shot of the left hand on the steering wheel, the left foot on the brake pedal and of course what's in front of the kart. There is no other way to mount it and get this angle. An I/O port on a rollbar is easily used in a car because it has a tripod type thread on the bottom of the camera and you can get a suction cup just like the Chase Cams.
So in essense your saying that the data with the SmartyCam is not as good as the TracMate at this point? Will the updates be included with the price for download or will that be in addition to? Is the benefit to the SmartyCam the video above all else and not necessarily the data?
Your right about the distortion. I didn't mention that in my original post because it seemed to be under very heavy g loads and at a particularly bumpy section of track, so I thougth it was normal considering the conditions.
You could be right about the GPS signal and the lower read out of speed. Obviously in a kart it's out in the open and it doesn't have any interference, but in the middle of the main race, the camera shut down because of low battery.
As far as mounting, the rep put on a ball joint type U-bolt attached to the seat strut and an Arm to extend beyond the seat. We wanted to get a shot of the left hand on the steering wheel, the left foot on the brake pedal and of course what's in front of the kart. There is no other way to mount it and get this angle. An I/O port on a rollbar is easily used in a car because it has a tripod type thread on the bottom of the camera and you can get a suction cup just like the Chase Cams.
11-19-2009, 09:02 PM
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So in essense your saying that the data with the SmartyCam is not as good as the TracMate at this point? Will the updates be included with the price for download or will that be in addition to? Is the benefit to the SmartyCam the video above all else and not necessarily the data?
The updates, if they happen would be a free upgrade is my guess. However I wouldn't buy the SmartyCam if you were expecting the updates right now. The SmartyCam is best for those who already have an AIM datalogger and want to add GPS and video to it.
As far as mounting, the rep put on a ball joint type U-bolt attached to the seat strut and an Arm to extend beyond the seat. We wanted to get a shot of the left hand on the steering wheel, the left foot on the brake pedal and of course what's in front of the kart. There is no other way to mount it and get this angle. An I/O port on a rollbar is easily used in a car because it has a tripod type thread on the bottom of the camera and you can get a suction cup just like the Chase Cams.
11-19-2009, 09:29 PM
#7
Just a couple of comments:
- I don't think its possible for a 20MPH speed data error to be caused by a 'weak' GPS signal. The GPS reciever either has a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position, or it does't have a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position so it doesn't. Most loggers will produce blank lat/long data when lock is lost.
- There's no codec for .avi, because avi is not a video format, its a multimedia container format. A file called blah.avi could contain video, audio, or both. The video could be in any one of a number of formats, including DV [Digital Video], MPEG2, MPEG4, MJPEG, DivX, XVid. The players [WMP, QT etc know how to open the .avi container, read the format of the video, then look for a matching codec.
The spec say that the Smartycam records H.264 format at 720x400, 30fps. That's not HD, of course.
The current versions of QuickTime and Windows Medial Player should be able to play it.
- I don't think its possible for a 20MPH speed data error to be caused by a 'weak' GPS signal. The GPS reciever either has a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position, or it does't have a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position so it doesn't. Most loggers will produce blank lat/long data when lock is lost.
- There's no codec for .avi, because avi is not a video format, its a multimedia container format. A file called blah.avi could contain video, audio, or both. The video could be in any one of a number of formats, including DV [Digital Video], MPEG2, MPEG4, MJPEG, DivX, XVid. The players [WMP, QT etc know how to open the .avi container, read the format of the video, then look for a matching codec.
The spec say that the Smartycam records H.264 format at 720x400, 30fps. That's not HD, of course.
The current versions of QuickTime and Windows Medial Player should be able to play it.
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11-19-2009, 10:44 PM
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Just a couple of comments:
- I don't think its possible for a 20MPH speed data error to be caused by a 'weak' GPS signal. The GPS reciever either has a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position, or it does't have a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position so it doesn't. Most loggers will produce blank lat/long data when lock is lost.
- I don't think its possible for a 20MPH speed data error to be caused by a 'weak' GPS signal. The GPS reciever either has a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position, or it does't have a locked signal for sufficient satellites to produce a position so it doesn't. Most loggers will produce blank lat/long data when lock is lost.
- There's no codec for .avi, because avi is not a video format, its a multimedia container format. A file called blah.avi could contain video, audio, or both. The video could be in any one of a number of formats, including DV [Digital Video], MPEG2, MPEG4, MJPEG, DivX, XVid. The players [WMP, QT etc know how to open the .avi container, read the format of the video, then look for a matching codec.
The spec say that the Smartycam records H.264 format at 720x400, 30fps. That's not HD, of course.
The current versions of QuickTime and Windows Medial Player should be able to play it.
The spec say that the Smartycam records H.264 format at 720x400, 30fps. That's not HD, of course.
The current versions of QuickTime and Windows Medial Player should be able to play it.
11-20-2009, 12:23 AM
#9
Well the files only play audio at best on either of those players most recent versions unless you download a codec pack. So there is something in the additon of the 'codec' that allows it to work.
11-20-2009, 10:46 AM
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Any closer to getting AIM to work with Track Vision Tony? Out of sheer laziness I still have my Pista and it looks like, if I want easy-peasy integrated video, the Smarty-Cam is about it...
11-22-2009, 12:24 AM
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My test didn't provide any speed readings, or any other info for that matter. I would like to test the Chase Cam with the new data module before making a decision.
11-22-2009, 01:12 PM
#12
Drifting
We just got our hands on our shipment of Smarty Cams a couple weeks ago. We ran the smarty plus a full Traqmate+Chasecam rig in our e30 at Infineon to compare back to back.
Pete, your issues might be fixed in the latest firmware update. 01.00.30 was released on 18 Nov 2009 so perhaps they didn't have the latest on the demo.
http://www.smartycam.com/download/fi...sor_010030.pdf
I think I agree that the Smarty has slightly better video compared to the Chasecam, But I think it depends on mounting location for the Chasecam. If you mount the bullet camera such that it only has one contrast 'domain' to deal with (either bright or dark) it looks way better. For instance, mounted right behind the windshield and not showing the interior. The Smarty does not seem to have this limitation. At SEMA Chase showed off a h.264 'DIVA' unit.. more to come from Chase soon.
One thing to point out is if you like to learn from the video overlay vs data traces then the Smarty is actually the best option out there right now because it overlays the gauges in real time so there is no post-processing hassle/expense/time.
We openly wondered how well the GPS would do on the Smarty without an external antenna. It seemed fine. It appears with the latest release you can connect an external GPS antenna. Perhaps with Karting this is not an issue. One thing to think about is that the Smarty can replace the need for the GPS add-on for any MXL dash. So if you want an all AiM system you save some cash there.
Once (hopefully) the firmware update comes out so folks can analyze the Smarty data in Race Studio this will be a very very attractive price point for DE and Time Trial level we think.
Overall we are very impressed. Actually my business partner says "I'm in love with it". Expect to see more units of this ilk coming in the next year. All-in-one logger/video units.
Pete, your issues might be fixed in the latest firmware update. 01.00.30 was released on 18 Nov 2009 so perhaps they didn't have the latest on the demo.
http://www.smartycam.com/download/fi...sor_010030.pdf
I think I agree that the Smarty has slightly better video compared to the Chasecam, But I think it depends on mounting location for the Chasecam. If you mount the bullet camera such that it only has one contrast 'domain' to deal with (either bright or dark) it looks way better. For instance, mounted right behind the windshield and not showing the interior. The Smarty does not seem to have this limitation. At SEMA Chase showed off a h.264 'DIVA' unit.. more to come from Chase soon.
One thing to point out is if you like to learn from the video overlay vs data traces then the Smarty is actually the best option out there right now because it overlays the gauges in real time so there is no post-processing hassle/expense/time.
We openly wondered how well the GPS would do on the Smarty without an external antenna. It seemed fine. It appears with the latest release you can connect an external GPS antenna. Perhaps with Karting this is not an issue. One thing to think about is that the Smarty can replace the need for the GPS add-on for any MXL dash. So if you want an all AiM system you save some cash there.
Once (hopefully) the firmware update comes out so folks can analyze the Smarty data in Race Studio this will be a very very attractive price point for DE and Time Trial level we think.
Overall we are very impressed. Actually my business partner says "I'm in love with it". Expect to see more units of this ilk coming in the next year. All-in-one logger/video units.
11-22-2009, 02:21 PM
#13
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So for guys with the older Pista that relies on wheel sensors for speed, etc., you can just hook this up and you get all the benefits of AIM GPS - speed, beaconless lap timer, track mapping, etc.? That's a good deal at $1K..
11-22-2009, 03:58 PM
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11-22-2009, 04:00 PM
#15
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According to the website yes, We are outfitting our shop car now using this approach to see if there are any gotchas.
http://www.smartycam.com/pages/faq.htm
http://www.smartycam.com/pages/faq.htm
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3. Can the SmartyCam GPS be seen by my logger? Yes, you can use the SmartyCam GPS like the normal GPS Module (GPS03) if you have an AIM Logger that can normally be connected to that module.