Afar radios provide wireless data telemetry to enhance TV coverage of NASCAR and Indy 500 Racing events

Afar radios are now racing around the tracks at both the Indy 500 Racing League and the NASCAR events. The RACEf/x system developed by Sportvision provides visual enhancements for live TV coverage of the racing events. The system uses differential GPS to determine the exact location of every car which then allows the announcer to turn on one or more “pointers” to identify the various cars in the race. It also lets the TV broadcasters add, on the fly, virtual dashboards displaying a car’s vital statistics in real time.

The communications system between the cars and the trackside was developed by Afar in cooperation with Sportvision . The radios consist of our PulsAR-24027 wireless bridge modified to survive the demanding shock and vibration environment. We also developed custom software that synchronizes all RF transmissions and collects statistics, five times a second, from up to 55 cars racing around the track at over 200 miles per hour. At each event the TV broadcaster installs up to eight radios in strategic positions around the track which coordinate and share all the RF transmissions to and from the cars. All car statistics are then sent to the on-site TV production truck to be used during the live broadcast.

The Sportvision RACEf/x system using the Afar radios to provide the wireless data telemetry was first introduced during the 2006 Indy 500 Racing League season, and is now also being used in the NASCAR Busch 2007 season.