Every data acquisition tool comes with their own software, so why make another tool?
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High DPI Support. Most tools don't enable High DPI support and thus are scaled and look horrible on a modern display. You can override this in Windows, and Motec i2 actually mostly works in this mode but still has some edge cases that don't render properly. AiM RaceStudio 2 and 3 work very badly if you override scaling.
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Responsive UI. Motec i2 is mostly responsive while AiM RaceStudio 2 and 3 are quite sluggish: when dragging the cursor, the values for the channels update very slowly.
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Cross platform. There should be a native tool for Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX.
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Video support. Motec supports video files but playback was very choppy for a 1080p/60 video on a new 2024 laptop. AiM only supports video files from SmartyCam.
| Feature | MoTeC i2 | AiM RaceStudio | GEMS Data Analysis | Track Attack | Race Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High DPI support | almost | no | YES | almost | YES |
| Responsive UI | YES | no | YES | YES | YES |
| Video support | Pro (but didn't work for me) | only smartycam | Pro version | Premium version | YES |
| Cross platform | no | no | no | Windows + Mac | YES |
| Many data formats | CSV (Pro) | no | no | YES | no |
- Aim_2_MoTeC will convert AiM DRK and XRK files to a MoTeC LD file that enables i2 Pro features. If i2 works for you this may be a more robust solution. It only works on Windows, but then again, i2 only works on Windows.
- RCP2GEMS will convert AutoSport Labs log files (a form of CSV) to another form of CSV that GEMS can read.
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Native high dpi support - fonts are sized by dpi/scaling. Most lines are still drawn at a single pixel though which still looks good on a black background.
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Responsive UI - channel search, cursor drag, switching worksheets, resizing all respond very quickly, even when dealing with 2 hour logs at 100Hz on a 10+ year old computer (i5-2500 with integrated graphics running 1600x1200).
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Cross platform (Windows 8+, Ubuntu 22.04+, Mac Arm)
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Opens AiM XRK, MoTeC LD, ECUMaster ADULOG, Autosport Lab LOG, RaceLogic VBOX, Race Technology RUN, and iRacing IBT files natively.
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Time/distance graph with overlaying channels, drag and drop channel support (for reordering the view), zoom in/out, pan, multiple laps with individual lap offsets, and time slip.
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Channel values report with simple, concise search (type
o pfor oil pressure). -
GPS map with optional satellite background for line comparison.
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Video from almost anything can be included. Playback is kept synchronized even in distance mode by speeding up/slowing down playback of the alternate lap.
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Configurable workspace layout, with cut/copy/paste.
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Math channels.
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Database that caches metadata from your sessions for easy lookup.
- Track editor for defining sections
- Various channel graphs (bar, steering, histogram, etc)
- Various reports (channel min/max/average, sector comparison, etc)
Windows x86_64 and Mac Arm images can be found at Releases.
On Windows, it will install a start menu shortcut for "Track Data Analysis" (just press the windows key and start typing Track).
Track Data Analysis relies on the PySide2 package in order to
support the widest list of operating systems. However it places some
odd constraints on how you source certain packages. Please follow the
instructions below as closely as reasonable.
Track Data Analysis is developed and tested on Ubuntu 22.04. You can
use the built in packages for most things except glfw, which you'll
have to install via pip3. Later versions of Ubuntu have switched to
python3.11 as the default, which is fine as long as the PySide2
package is available. If you're installing PySide2 via pip3, then
you'll want to stick to python3.10 or older.
Ubuntu 22.04:
sudo apt install python3-pyside2.qtwidgets python3-numpy libmpv1
pip3 install dacite glfw pyyaml # Ubuntu 23.04+ has apt package python3-pyglfw
You should then be able to run the program using either of the following:
./gui.py
python3.10 gui.py
You'll want to get Python 3.10 directly from python.org. You should probably get the 'Windows installer (64-bit)'. Do not use the version of python from the Microsoft app store; I haven't tried it but I have read enough that makes me think it won't work right.
Assuming that Python is in your path, you can then install the Python package requirements with:
pip install -r requirements.txt
You will need to manually install libmpv;
I typically put libmpv-2.dll under the ui/ directory as that is
added to the path automatically.
You should then be able to run the program using:
python3 gui.py
Mac is a little tricky; PySide2 is not technically supported on Mac Arm machines, but it is available on Homebrew. However, they make it a little difficult, and it will only show up under Python3.10, so you need to make sure to specify that when running various commands.
brew install pyside@2
brew link pyside@2
brew install mpv
pip3.10 install dacite glfw numpy pyyaml
Then you should be able to run the program with either:
./gui.py
python3.10 ./gui.py
The window is made up of components (graphs, videos, etc) and docks (anything activated by a button on the left side of the screen). The dock windows can be attached to the UI on either the left side or right side of the component area. Docks are shown on all worksheets, while components are specific to a worksheet.
Components have a context menu (right click), along with a top level menu which is basically the same thing. Components can be removed by 'Cut' and duplicated using 'Copy' / 'Paste'. Actions such as enabling time slip or linking video happen through component menus. New components can be added using the 'Add' menu.
Each worksheet has it's own collection of graphs. You can easily switch between worksheets within a workbook by selecting the corresponding tab on top. You can select different workbooks using the drop down. Use the Layout menu to change the worksheet / workbook organization. The collection of workbooks is stored in the current workspace; use the File menu to open/save workspaces. Generally I would assume most users will only use a single workspace, or maybe one per car.
Log files are opened via File menu, and laps are generally selected through the Data dock. There should always be a single reference lap selected. There can be an alternate lap selected (for components that only support two comparisons, such as video, this will be the one given preference). There can be a number of extra laps selected though the UI can get pretty busy with a lot of laps selected. Use the data menu adjust parameters relating to laps. NOTE that Time/Distance is a per-worksheet parameter!
Channels can be added using either the Channels dock or the Values dock. Double click on the channel to add and it will by default be added to a subgraph that has the same units, otherwise a new subgraph will be created. To always add to a new subgraph, hold down Ctrl while double clicking. Channels can be rearranged on the graph using drag and drop: dropping onto a channel will put the dragged channel after it. Dropping onto the bottom half of a subgraph will insert a new subgraph for that channel.
You can load any video file, but currently only one video file can be associated with a log file. Typically to align a video I will open the first two laps, put the cursor at the start of the lap, enable 'Set video alignment' (right click on video), then drag the bottom slider until the video lines up (the top timecode is session time, the bottom timecode is video time). Both videos should look roughly like they're in the same spot.
You'll need an API key from MapTiler to get satellite maps. A free account should work just fine and you don't need to give them a credit card. Once your account is created navigate to API Keys to copy your key, then go to File/Preferences to set it. You can always disable the satellite background by right clicking on the map.
- 0.4.1
- Fix important usability bugs in 0.4.0
- 0.4.0
- Initial math expression support
- 4x faster AiM XRK file processing.
- Allow specifying 'last used' instead of 'interpolate' for channels (for gear, status, etc)
- 0.3.3
- Significantly (50%) faster AiM XRK file processing.
- Add handling for interpolated vs previous values in graphs
- 0.3.2
- Context menu for worksheet tabs (new/rename/delete/duplicate/etc)
- Parse some metadata from iRacing files for use in db
- Fix bug in parsing some iRacing files
- Allow * in channel search
- 0.3.1
- iRacing IBT support
- Automatic GPS lap insert for AiM files
- Small bug fixes
- 0.3.0
- Add automatic scanning of directories for quick access to old log files.
- Add ability to diplay metadata from log files (venue/driver/etc)
- 0.2.0
- Mac/Arm support
- Channel editor to set units, decimals places, and color
- Basic units support. Fixes distance calculation when speed is not m/s.
- Fix MoTeC beacon support
- Fix Autosport Labs lap counter