QR (?) or NFC Hardware/Tag solutions?

[Michael Melley]

Hello all - 

I have demoed the scan the QR functionality and really think this is a great solution in some applications.  In this case my client does not want the athlete to carry a phone and have to scan.  

QR Question - Can the athlete have a barcoded/QR code wrist band and use a scanner as the hardware to record a split time?  I believe that is possible (scanner would act like a grocery store self check out, with the wrist band being the product being scanned).  Suggested QR scanners?

Suggested bands with QR?

Alternatively, if the above is not a solution, I am looking for some recommendations on NFC hardware and tags.  

• Tags - ideally are on the ribbon like bands that slide or a silicone solution (reusable is great).
• Hardware - needs to be easy to set up, and ideally good battery life or rechargeable 

"Course"

17 exercise stations (each one will be a timed split, total time counts, no untimed segments)

Start

Exercise 1,2,3...etc

Finish

Thank you!

Mike Melley

[Vesa Suomalainen]

It will be complicated & expensive to setup 17 scanning stations which would require a volunteer & timing device if all the racer carries is a QR code or NFC chip.  I would not recommend this option with that many timing stations.

The self-timed QR code scan feature works totally unattended and requires just a printed / laminated QR code.  Timing is reliable & live results are automatic.  Yes the downside is that the racers will have to carry their phone.

Regards,

Vesa Suomalainen

Webscorer Inc.

On Feb 21, 2025, at 11:52 AM, Michael Melley <michael...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all - 

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[Vesa Suomalainen]

With racers carrying just a QR code of an NFC chip, you could use 17 personal phones as scanners, reducing the hardware cost. But you would 17 trained volunteers, and rely on each not to make a mistake in starting / operating the app.  I have seen many try & fail even with 5 operators.

On Feb 21, 2025, at 12:11 PM, Vesa Suomalainen <ve...@webscorer.com> wrote:

It will be complicated & expensive to setup 17 scanning stations which would require a volunteer & timing device if all the racer carries is a QR code or NFC chip.  I would not recommend this option with that many timing stations.

[Vesa Suomalainen]

When is your race?  

We are working on a new feature that would be a step-improvement over NFC chips. Racers would carry Bluetooth beacons which have a battery and cost around $15 each. iPhones or Android phones can be used as readers, similar to NFC.  The beacons can be attached to wristbands, collected back after the race and reused.  There may be a chip rental option as well.

The advantages are:

1. Chip detection is automatic, similar to RFID

2. Reliability of detections should be close to 100%

3. Volunteers at the timing stations don’t need to do anything but to have the Webscorer app in the foreground and monitor the detections

ETA is sometime this spring.

On Feb 21, 2025, at 12:47 PM, Vesa Suomalainen <ve...@webscorer.com> wrote:



[Michael Melley]

Thank you for all this intel.  Mid March. 

[Boris Concepcion]

Vesa, Can you confirm the read range of this feature?

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[Vesa Suomalainen]

Bluetooth beacons use the BLE protocol which has a detection range of up to 30 meters using default 0 dBm transmit power setting.

We plan to offer “First detect” and “Best detect” options - the latter will analyze the RSSI values of each detection, and apply a smoothing algorithm to reduce the signal noise.

On Feb 22, 2025, at 6:17 PM, Boris Concepcion <bconcep...@gmail.com> wrote:



[Michael Melley]

Hey Vesa - 

Checking back in to see if there was any further development on the bluetooth beacons.

Second to the above, my client is still looking to use NFC vs have athletes carry their respective phone.

It is similar to a cross-fit type of event, within a confined space, and 17 different stations.

Thank you as always -

Mike 

[Vesa Suomalainen]

The Bluetooth beacon feature was added in v7.4 of the app which was released on June 5.  You can find it in the “Chip Timing System” options.

However, in our testing we found issues that negatively affect timing accuracy - and make the use of Bluetooth beacons for race timing not suitable.

The Bluetooth beacon advertises its existence by continuously transmitting its Chip ID.  At standard power setting, the beacon can be detected as far as 30 feet away from the timing device (e.g. iPhone) listening to the beacon signals.  Attempting to narrow this down to a known distance (e.g. 3 feet from the timing device) can theoretically be done by monitoring the dBm value (strength of the signal).  The problem is that the dBm value can be different between two beacons at the same distance from the timing device based on the orientation of the beacon and how the beacon is attached to the racer.  Getting timing accuracy to be even +/- 2-3 seconds may not be practical.

This finding is similar to what we discovered with RFID chips.  If you place two chips stationary in front of a single antenna, the RSSI value that the reader will report as to the “strength of the signal) will jump around a fair bit.  This is the reason we eliminated the “Best detect” feature for RFID chip timing as it was possibly returning false readings.

Our conclusion (for now) is that the best application of Bluetooth beacons is to use them at aid stations / checkpoints where the accuracy of the detection is not a concern.  In our testing, we found that the detection reliability of Bluetooth beacons was 100%.

Regarding your cross-fit event, the NFC chip timing would be the most practical option - if you’re unable to convince the RD to use QR codes which the racers would scan with their own phones.  The downside of the NFC chip timing option is that you will require 17 timing volunteers and 17 timing devices to monitor the detections.  If a volunteer makes a (bad) mistake, it could invalidate timings for all racers from that station.  If a racer scanning QR codes makes a mistake, only the racer's own result will be affected.

[Michael Melley]

Them you very much for this detailed information!