[dorkbotpdx-blabber] Fwd: [freegeek-social] Bike Counter for WNBR -- ideas? volunteers?

Tue May 27 16:54:47 EDT 2008

Anthony,

I cant get the link below to come up so I don't have the complete  
picture but reed switches are not active devices.  You would have to  
get everyone to magnetize their bikes. Unless you are going to just  
use them as switches (with their own magnetics).  The event is weird  
enough :).

Don.

On May 27, 2008, at 12:25 AM, Anthony Asterisk wrote:

> Would a reed (magnetic) sensor be triggered by a bicycle wheel?
>
> I'm imagining an array of very small reed sensors like this:
>
> http://www.meder.com/upload/produkte/69_en_1_MMS_e.pdf
>
> an array would be able to differentiate between 1 bike and several  
> bikes, maybe?
>
> A*
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Donald Delmar Davis wrote:
>>
>> I was thinking rfid myself.
>>
>> On May 26, 2008, at 2:46 PM, subbies at redheadedstepchild.org wrote:
>>
>>> Er......give everyone a number to stick on their bike before the  
>>> race
>>> starts?
>>>
>>> I don't know that this is a very sexy technological solution.   
>>> Then again,
>>> I'm not sure having 1000 specimens of the average Portlander naked  
>>> on
>>> bikes is very sexy either. But if you're dying for a piece of  
>>> technology,
>>> maybe you could use a hand tally counter - it's a mechanical button
>>> device connected to several rotating number wheels.  Biologists  
>>> use them
>>> when counting things all the time. Mechanics + naked biological  
>>> specimens
>>> = sexy?
>>>
>>> -Alexis
>>>
>>> + --------
>>>   redheadedstepchild.org
>>>        ------- +
>>>
>>> On Sun, 25 May 2008, Daniel Johnson wrote:
>>>
>>> ::Thought maybe someone here would be interested in devising a way  
>>> to
>>> ::accuratly count 1000+ naked cyclists.
>>> ::
>>> ::
>>> ::---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> ::From: Bobby Kovacich <lowtire at gmail.com>
>>> ::
>>> ::I don't think the hose would ever give an accurate count.  If  
>>> you want
>>> ::to know exactly, I would say having a picture/movie of the start  
>>> and
>>> ::finish and maybe a few other points along the way and then count  
>>> the
>>> ::individual bikes in the pictures.  I have the camera anda  
>>> tripod...
>>> ::
>>> ::Bobby
>>> ::
>>> ::On Sun, May 25, 2008 at 4:44 PM, Steve Kirkendall
>>> ::<skirkendall at dsl-only.net> wrote:
>>> ::> I'm writing a countdown timer for the World Naked Bike Ride on  
>>> June 14,
>>> ::> and the question has been asked: What should it show when the  
>>> countdown
>>> ::> hits 00:00?  The most ambitious idea is a bike counter, so  
>>> we'll know
>>> ::> exactly how many bikes our ride has.  Last year, Portland tied  
>>> with
>>> ::> London for the largest rides in the world with about 800  
>>> riders each,
>>> ::> but those were just estimates.  We're hoping for around 1200  
>>> riders this
>>> ::> year, and sole ownership of the title.
>>> ::>
>>> ::> Does anybody here have ideas on how to make a bike counter?   
>>> Do you have
>>> ::> the hardware?  Do you know how to interface it to the  
>>> computer?  And the
>>> ::> biggest question of all: Does anybody want to take on this  
>>> challenge,
>>> ::> bearing in mind that the ride takes place in less than three  
>>> weeks?
>>> ::>
>>> ::> Here's what I'm thinking:
>>> ::>
>>> ::> Well, first I guess I'm thinking that there's NO WAY I have  
>>> time to do
>>> ::> this myself.  But if I did, I'd look to get multiple segments  
>>> of hose,
>>> ::> like gas stations use to ring a bell when somebody drives up.   
>>> I figure
>>> ::> we'd need multiple hoses because with over 1000 bikers  
>>> crossing a single
>>> ::> hose in a couple of minutes, the hose would just pretty much  
>>> stay
>>> ::> flattened all the time; it'd count everybody as one really big  
>>> bike,
>>> ::> which is obviously not right.  So we need multiple hoses, each  
>>> with
>>> ::> its own transducer of some kind, all connected to a single  
>>> computer.
>>> ::>
>>> ::> An alternative sensor design would be to use light sensors  
>>> about 1cm
>>> ::> above the ground.  Again, with multiple sections.  I don't  
>>> know if this
>>> ::> would be easier to implement or more reliable than the hoses  
>>> though.
>>> ::>
>>> ::> To connect the sensors to the computer, one idea I had was to  
>>> get an
>>> ::> 8-port serial board, connect each sensor to the Carrier Detect  
>>> line,
>>> ::> and then write software that watch for changes to all those CD  
>>> lines.
>>> ::> (I think 8 sections would be adequate.  I haven't done the  
>>> research
>>> ::> though.)
>>> ::>
>>> ::> --
>>> ::> Steve Kirkendall  /  kirkenda at cs.pdx.edu  /  skirkendall at dsl-only.net
>>> ::> "Get a bicycle.  You will not regret it.  If you live." --  
>>> Mark Twain
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