Racetracker
Capturing the cycling experience in real time.We built a real-time race tracking mobile platform that gives enthusiasts and athletes the opportunity to experience, distribute and fund the popular sport in completely new ways.
What we did
- Machine learning model development
- Mobile and backend development
- Product design
- Brand identity
Enhancing the cycling experience through digital technology
Ever since it was first televised, the sport of cycling has never ceased to appeal to an ever-growing audience. To know what’s going on during a cycling race, however, today’s fans and riders still rely heavily on the footage of expensive cameras mounted on motorbikes and helicopters. Using GPS tracking, machine learning and smartphones, Racetracker provides an easier alternative to the standard coverage.
It allows the audience to follow all participating riders in real time while presenting additional stats on their speed, altitudes, group formations, the length of the race and its overall elevation. Racetracker also gives the viewer access to contextual information like previous performances, weather reports or local news.
The Racetracker platform uses algorithms that not only give an estimate of where the riders are but also on how fast they are going and their relative distance to other groups of riders.
Tracking every detail in one easy-to-use platform
Our biggest challenge while building and designing the Racetracker platform from scratch was to ensure that everything runs smoothly for many different users. Not only did we build a custom digital system for organisers, through which loads of data can be analysed, handled and pushed in real-time, we also designed a clear and user-friendly app for fans to experience the race on their phones wherever they are.
The entire platform is built on a machine learning-based backend system. It tracks individual riders in real time and generates predictions on their next moves. Racetracker depends on live data that is generated through GPS trackers. Our developers tested and tweaked these trackers and the backend system under real-life conditions to offer the best possible results to the viewers, without compromising the comfort of participating riders.
Tracking individual cyclists all over the world in one digital platform, Racetracker covers precious live moments most cameras are unable to capture.
We tested the GPS trackers on different occasions to improve tracking, connectivity and battery lifespan.
Tech Stack
- Python, Fastapi
- Kubernetes (deployment)
- Postgres, postgis (data-storage, geo-data handling)
- Redis (queuing estimation)
- Firebase (user management, authentification)
- Grafana (admin)
- Sanity (CMS)
- Native iOS app