Why does Swift uses Dual Beam ?
ACCURACY, that’s why.
Regardless of all the rhetoric you have read about single beam gates, read the following………..
We are true to our 20 years of experience and knowledge on this. We have read many articles bestowing the benefits of software corrected single beam timing gates, but our own research tells us that these software corrected single beam systems are only accurate if athlete height is constant.
Think about that for a moment……..”if athlete height is constant”.
We have seen no research that includes athlete height as a variable.
Our competitors make a point in their literature of the necessity to set up the gate so it shoots at just above hip height of your athlete.
Why is this?? ………it’s because they want the beam shooting between the areas where the thigh and forearm operate during a sprint.
Software correct single beams look for the widest pulse, and assumes that will be the torso. This only works if the beam is above the thigh, and /or below the forearm when it/they are parallel to the ground.
*The image below shows how single beam correction attempts to filter erroneous triggers.
However, because no matter how smart the system is, if it is looking for the widest pulse as a runner goes past, it has no way to discern the difference between the TORSO and the THIGH if the thigh is parallel to the ground during the sprint and it breaks the beam. So in setting up the gates as single beam manufacturers recommend, all is good, until a shorter or taller athlete runs through and their forearm or thigh breaks the beam. It generates the widest pulse and gives an error.
So …….now think about the simplicity of dual beam and how it works. It’s a no brainer, and even though we could make a cheaper, software corrected single beam gate and then COMPENSATE it, we choose not to. With Dual beam gates BOTH beams must be occluded in a VERTICAL plane to give a valid trigger.
The image below is from a line-scan camera that is commonly used to measure sprint finishes in professional athletic events. Note the distortion seen as extended limbs in this image. This is because the image is collected by building from thousands of vertical lines, as the athlete passes this imaginary point. This is what what a single beam system would ‘see’ if it were placed in the position of the red box. This would give an EARLY finish time, or a FAST time if you like.
The Yellow box shows how Swift would interpret this runner. The result is a finish time closer to the athletes centre of mass, and closer to the front of the torso. More accurate every time.
The image below shows a hurdler. Where exactly would you place a single beam timing gate in this case?
The Blue window shows early triggers, and so does the Red Window. So where
With Swift Dual Beam Timing Gate, both the upper and lower beams must be broken before a timing
event is generated.
Why buy Swift?
- Free software
- 12 month warranty
- Easiest to use on the market
- Laser alignment
- Dual beam means accuracy with both short and tall athletes without changing gate setup
- iPad compatibility
- Apple TV leaderboard – free (just buy an Apple TV)
- 2d test designer . Drag and drop
- No return to base for firmware upgrade
- Firmware upgrades free
- 20 years in business