Anyone interested in an iPod Touch / iPhone app for RC?

[Form]

I'm a student in Software Engineering at the university, so I thought I could combine two of my hobbies together, by making an iPod Touch / iPhone app for helping with RC setup, racing, etc. I would like to know:

1- How many people (if any) have an iPod Touch or iPhone?
2- Would you see a use for an RC application?

Some features I thought of, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

- Lap / race timer with stats (fastest lap, graphs, etc.)
- Setup sheets (to store info for later reference), with ability to order by a rating which would be given by the user after the run for this particular setup.
- Reference documentation (definitions, adjustment consequences (effects), troubleshooting, etc.)
- ...

What do you think of this idea? Would you use this app if it was available?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

:yellowhack:

 

[PYROhafe]

ide give it a try!

 

[BIGDAN89]

i use my iphone and i bring the thing every where lol. i would be instrested. as i have a crt.5(a 1/12th scale truggy) thta set up is alyways played with.

 

[USMC-716]

For sure..

I would love to try it out.. Just got my Savage and i can't even begin to take in all the info on this forum.

I'd give it a shot.

 

[Form]

Do you have suggestions for features which you would like to see in such an app?

 

[[hs] darkshine]

I have an 2nd gen touch, and it would be cool.

*Setup info, needle settings etc;
like you have a setting for different temperatures
*Lap timer;
*Use the accellaromiter on the touck/iphone to measure accelleration (allthough it would need a sturdy mount on the truck, lol

Can't think of anything else...at the moment...

 

[Form]

*Use the accellaromiter on the touck/iphone to measure accelleration (allthough it would need a sturdy mount on the truck, lol

Can't think of anything else...at the moment...

That would be INSANE (in a crazy, wouldn't-do-it way). lol

What kind of settings/info would you like to be able to store in a digital setup sheet? i.e: what do you usually take note of (or should take note of!). I kind of got an idea on what to include in a setup sheet, but this is only based on looking at a few sheets from HPI / OFNA and not any actual experience, so I don't really know which settings are most useful to keep track of.

Also, for the racers out there, how do you use your setup sheets? Do you use them to note your settings at each run, or do you use them as reference setups for different kinds of race conditions?

 

[BIGDAN89]

each run if somethings work you keep those on the next set up and change what you noted that needed to be changed
and based on track condtions

 

[RangerRock]

I basically write down different setups for my pipe since I have a buku. I also write down how many shocks, what shocks, and what shocks on each end of the truck along with what weight oils.

 

[Bankrupter]

Not much of a set up sheet on a savage. But for a truggy/buggy app you log every thing you do. There is tons of adjustment and changing just one can be the winning combo or a lost race. So you use them to reference what you have done. Makes it easy to go back. When you race many tracks know what worked best last time you ran there etc.

How would you put a lap timer on a phone?
You would have to let go of the TX to log the lap. That is built in to most racing TXs you trigger it with your left thumb. I would think set up sheets would be most helpful. I would strap a g meter to my truck for fun. I put more expensive gps on it and the phone weighs less and is insured!

 

[BIGDAN89]

iphones arent insuranced lmao so that's a $200 loss

 

[Form]

Not much of a set up sheet on a savage. But for a truggy/buggy app you log every thing you do. There is tons of adjustment and changing just one can be the winning combo or a lost race. So you use them to reference what you have done. Makes it easy to go back. When you race many tracks know what worked best last time you ran there etc.

How would you put a lap timer on a phone?
You would have to let go of the TX to log the lap. That is built in to most racing TXs you trigger it with your left thumb. I would think set up sheets would be most helpful. I would strap a g meter to my truck for fun. I put more expensive gps on it and the phone weighs less and is insured!

I was not thinking of making this app specifically for the Savage, but for RC ground vehicles in general. But regarding the Savage, what are the adjustments you can do on a stock savage SS or RTR? Also, what would be the most important settings to take note of in a setup sheet?

I know a lap timer is built into most racing TX, but some don't and it could be useful so the racer could just concentrate on the race while a teammate logs his laps on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Regarding the "iPhone as a g-meter" suggestion, I personnally would never strap my iPod Touch to my truck! That would be a great way to break it. There must surely be some more rugged devices made expressly for this purpose that can take a beating...

 

[RangerRock]

iphones arent insuranced lmao so that's a $200 loss

He is saying that he has the insurance plan on his phone.

I don't do the insurance plans because I don't buy $300+ phones but for some people that have the fancy phones I guess it comes in handy....

 

[Visionary]

Any update on these programs ? I don't have a touch or iphone, but want to see how you designed this.. I'm also a programmer and I don't know much about the language used for the iphone/touch

 

[Form]

The status is: Ive got a lot of ideas, but very little time. Ive got a very basic layout of the interface which is already coded, a few sketches, a few homemade icons and a big list of ideas.

Ive got a relatively good grasp of Objective-C 2.0 which is the language used to program for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Note that you need to have a Mac to develop for this platform because unfortunately the development environment is only available on Mac OS X.

I'm still interested in making this app even though I lack time and if I'm fortunate enough to get an internship this summer Ill have way more time on my hands to work on this project (excluding the time used for running my savy!).

You should not expect to see this coming out very soon, but Ill try to dedicate some time to this project as soon as I can.

Still looking for ideas and feedback on some of the discussed points earlier in the thread!