Interesting & noble effort. However at the end of the day, I don't
sense it's a tremendous solution to a great problem. It doesn't push
the envelope far enough. For example I know people working on a Wifi
chest & wrist band system (like WinningTime) that aside from offering
accurate times also transmits all the typical HRM data realtime to a
site. So friends and family anywhere in the world can log on and
track a runner's performance during the event (speed, relative position
to the field, within their sex or AG, pace, hrm....the works....all
right there in the corner of the screen as they look at an icon
representing the runner). Prop'ing temp. wife ubmrellas is no great
task over a course. A real next generation system must touch the skin,
collect and transmi data, along w/accurately time....imo...
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/10948748.htm
A chip in time set to debut
By Tracey Myers
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
It happened by chance.
James Galindo and Marty Leicht met through the Cowtown races several
years ago.
They didn't know it, but Galindo, a software developer, and Leicht, a
race director, had a common goal: They wanted to develop a better
method of race timing. Problem was, Galindo didn't know much about the
racing world, and Leicht was at a loss when it came to technology.
Together, however, they've helped create what could be the next great
timing system.
TekChip, a tiny timing device that's barely visible to the naked eye,
will be the official timekeeper of the 2005 Cowtown marathon, half-
marathon and 10K. The chip, invented by Galindo and Leicht, is making
its official debut at the Cowtown, and it could become the timing
choice for years to come.
Many races use a chip attached to runners' shoes to keep time. The
chips are collected by race officials immediately after competitors
cross the finish line, and the time is transferred from the chips to a
computer.
"That process pretty much goes away with our system," Galindo said.
"[TekChip is] hidden, and there's no extra weight."
Diane Leicht, Marty's wife, said the chip is the result of years of
hard work by a lot of people.
"We've been aggressively testing it this year," Diane Leicht said. "Now
it's ready to be put to the big test."
Galindo and Leicht started working on TekChip in 2003, hoping to
streamline the timing process. TekChip works on radio frequency
identification (RFID), technology that is described as the next
generation of bar codes. Used by several major companies, RFID can
track and trace goods in real time.
The beauty is its simplicity. Instead of a chip that runners have to
worry about obtaining and race directors have to worry about
reclaiming, TekChip is already on each runner's bib. It's about the
size of a grain of salt, and is stuck to a piece of tape that is placed
on the back of the bib. Afterward, runners can either keep the bib or
throw it away, because the chip automatically transmits the runner's
time to a reader that sends the information to a computer.
The chip got its test run at last year's Cowtown, unbeknownst to most
participants. The test worked, paving the way for it to be the official
timekeeper this year.
"Personally, it looks to me like a very innovative idea," said race
director Jim Gilliland. "With the chip being in the bib, it saves some
problems. To me, it looks like a really neat way of doing things."
Though the chip has passed its tests with flying colors, the Cowtown
will still use backup timing systems, just in case.
"We'll still go through the chutes, we'll still collect that bib tag,"
Cowtown executive director Heidi Schwartz said. "But the runners and
volunteers don't have to worry about hooking anything on shoes.