True line-scan photo finish systems are based on our specially designed cameras that take incredibly thin “line” pictures rather than the usual 2-dimensional frame picture taken by a normal camera. It is, if you like, the furthest it is possible to get away from a “panorama” view. The “line of image” that is recorded is a picture of the finish line and nothing else. These photo finish images of the finish line are taken many hundreds of times a second and displayed on the screen side by side. A FinishLynx photo finish picture is actually comprised of these incredibly thin individual images of the finish line – and the activity that was taking place at that split second – placed one next to another.
Still unsure? Check out our simulation and see exactly how the process really works!
A Simulation of How FinishLynx Cameras Work
A FinishLynxline-scan camera only sees a very narrow piece of the world - the finish line. It looks at the finish line many times a second and stores each of these images. The animation on the left side of the simulation shows 35 "images" of the finishline shown one after another. You will notice that it looks like a moving picture of horses running through the finish line. The animation on the right shows these same "images" placed one beside the other in a way that mimics how the FinishLynx software assembles the images. Each image represents a fractionally later moment in time. Reading a time is simply a question of identifying which "image" contains the moment when a runner crossed the line by placing the hashline there. Because the images are time-indexed by the software, the runner's time is instantly displayed when the hashline is positioned.
Reading the times from a FinishLynx image (evaluating the results) is simply a question of using the mouse to move a marker we call the “hairline” to the position you choose on the screen (usually a competitor’s chest) and clicking the mouse button. This tells the FinishLynx software to identify what time corresponds with this slice of image. It really is – at the simplest level – as easy as that.
Below is a typical FinishLynx photo finish image display. It’s so user friendly, tamper-proof and accurate – the end result will never be questioned again.
(Click to view larger image)
FinishLynx Digital Photo Finish System Specs
Technical Specifications:
Model:
Professional 2K
Professional 5K
Professional 10K
Typical sports:
Athletics – Rowing…
Cycling – Horse Racing
Motorsports
Max Frame Rate:
2 000 f/s
5 000 f/s
10 000 f/s
Time Resolution:
5/10 000 sec
2/10 000 sec
1/10 000 sec
Sensor Type:
Single Line CCD
Max Pixels:
1350 (Standard) ~ 4000 (Optional Digital Zoom)
Digital Zoom:
up to 4x (Standard) ~ up to 12x (Optional Digital Zoom)
