24 January 2018
France Galop, LeTROT, Equidia Racing Channel, the National Federation of Horse Racing and the PMU Tote) presented EpiqE Tracking app on Tuesday at a press conference in paris. Developed for this specific use in horse racing, the new technology is a global innovation in its accuracy and mode of operation by GPS. Its purpose is to raise awareness of racing in the general public while promoting a renewed racing experience through the different viewing experiences EpiqE Tracking makes possible.
The first and most visible EpiqE Tracking use will be on Equidia's screens. Viewers will follow the runners from colored and numbered chicklets racing in a lower screen dedicated case, just as many have seen in racecourses and betting shops in America, in the Gulf and in Asiabut never before had the accuracy of the horse's trackers been so great as to be limited to 10in on a living, moving vehicle.
On the other hand, Epiqe Racing's operating system is lighter than that of its predecessors thanks to the use of GPS. The second screen application of EpiqE Tracking, immersive and fun, also puts the user in the heart of the race in 3D. It also provides a wealth of data that can provide a huge data for statistics and further examination.
The tracer unit needed will be installed before the race in a pocket located at the back of a specially designed saddle cloth. These trackers are not bigger than a pack of long cigarettes and weigh 150gr, the weight of a standard smartphone. They will collect and transmit data that will be available during and after the race. Due to the characteristics of jumps races however, new tests will be needed before EpiqE Tracking is used in this discipline.
The antenna and the sensors communicate via two separate radio frequency channels. During the race, the on-board sensors provided by MacLloyd, the sport tracking specialist, send more than 50 datas, 10 times a second. The unique GPS sensor, based on the most precise technology in the world, is enhanced by the RTK antenna installed on the site. The information is stored on a local server. In parallel, LeTrot or France Galop send all the basic data of the race to the server.
Thus, the video broadcast or the tracking can be stopped anytime in case of an incident.
The local server produces business data that is sent to the central server, located in the cloud of Thalès. It will calculate the kilometer rate, or the recorded time over a distance. This data is brought back in real time and dislayed. It is one of the added values of Thalès, a reference provider in leading sectors such as aerospace and defense. For its part, Paris-Turf transfers the racing data background: race programs and post times, etc. A drone was used to modelthe raccourses, a prerequisite for the deployment of the device wherever you want, on a racetrack ... or anywhere really!
The EpiqE Tracking app can be downloaded via Google Play on Android and AppStore on iOS.