B1 | Setup & Configure Edgertronic With TrackMan B1 To Capture Video & Data

This FAQ describes functionality available to customers who have access to the Edgertronic high-speed video integration features available in App version 1.25 or higher. Please contact your sales representative to learn about how you can join this program.

REMINDER: Do not use the Edgertronic power supply for B1 and vice versa. Each product has separate power requirements and interchanging power supplies will likely cause damage.

Overview

The TrackMan Portable system can control an external Edgertronic SC-1/SC-2 camera to automatically capture high-speed video of pitching/batting practice together with TrackMan data. The camera system is fully managed via the TrackMan Baseball application and videos are downloaded and viewed directly in the app after each pitch/hit. You do not need any additional personnel to trigger the camera or any laptop/PC to extract/videos from the SD card after a session. Videos are also synchronized to the cloud so they can be downloaded to other iPads at another location if needed.

This FAQ explains how to install the necessary software, configure your camera to work with TrackMan and how to operate the system during a practice session.

1. One-time setup and configuration

  1.1 Confirm - and if necessary - install required camera software

  1.2 Install the TrackMan camera extension

  1.3 Configure your camera+wifi router to connect to a TrackMan B1

     1.3.1 Configure TP-link

     1.3.2 Configure GL-AR300M16-Ext

2. Start a practice session with Edgertronic and TrackMan

  2.1 Before a session

  2.2 Start a session and view video during a session

  2.3 After a session

NOTE: Only an SDHC card is supported by Edgertronic and NOT SDXC.

1. One-time setup and configuration

1.1 Confirm - and if necessary - install the required camera software

The camera must be running one of the following software versions:

• 2.4.1rc33
• 2.4.1g6
• 2.5.1rc20
• 2.5.2rc30

Edgertronic Software Download

You can verify your version via the About tab in the Edgertronic WebUI. If you do not have one of these versions, please follow the Edgertronic instructions on how to update the camera software.

1.2 Install/Update the TrackMan camera extension

The camera can be extended with features that are exposed as API calls to the camera. Follow these steps:

1. Download the "camera extension" from TrackMan via this dropbox link. The last version is 1.8.1. https://www.dropbox.com/s/bkzm08y0608vjp3/app_ext_b1.py.v181.zip 
2. Click on the download icon in the upper right of the dropbox website. If your browser downloads a zip file then make sure to *unzip* the zip file so you have a file named "app_ext_b1.py".
3. Copy only the "app_ext_b1.py" file to the root directory of your Edgertronic camera SD card using your laptop and SD card reader.
4. Put the SD card into your Edgertronic camera and reboot the camera.
5. Verify the extension is installed by going to the web address of your Edgertronic camera and append "/etx" (for example http://192.168.1.1/ext) and confirm your update has been installed. The web-page will list some functions of an app extension version - it should display v1.8.1.

1.3 Configure your camera+wifi router to connect to a TrackMan B1

We provide instructions for two different wifi routers and configurations:

• OPTION A: TP-link WR802 (as proposed by Edgertronic)
• OPTION B: GL-AR300M16-Ext with external antenna wifi router. We have found this to be a more reliable and better-performing wifi router when on the field.
• OPTION C: Connect your B1 and your Edgertronic to an existing corporate wifi network.

Follow *one* of the below options:

1.3.1 OPTION A - Configure TP-link

In this option, the B1 will be retained as an access point and the TP-link will be a wifi-client to the B1. The TrackMan iPad shall connect to the B1 wifi.

1. Some models of the TP-link have a physical switch on the side of the box. Make sure the physical switch o is toggled to AP/Rngext/Client
2. Connect the USB cable between the camera and Tp-link but *not* the ethernet connection. Power ON the camera (which will power on the wifi router)
3. On your laptop/iPad connect to tp-link wifi SSID via the wireless connection menu
4. Open a Browser and go to 192.168.0.1
5. Login with the default user and password for the tp link (should be written with small letters on it on back of the unit)
6. Choose Quick setup and click “next” (do NOT change login password)
7. Set it up as Client and click “next”
8. Connect it to the TrackMan B1 wifi (usually “TMBXXXXX” enter specific password to individual radar)
9. Press “next” on the following 2 screens
10. Press “finish” and wait until the "rebooting" progress bar is complete
    NOTE: At this time you will lose wifi connection to TP-Link because it now has a new IP address given from the B1.
11. Unplug power to the camera for a few seconds and then connect the power. Wait for 1 minute while the camera and TP-link boot.
12. THEN connect the TP-link ethernet to the camera ethernet and wait until the Edgertronic camera display a solid blue light = camera has acquired an IP address
13. Get the camera IP address: Unplug the SD card and insert it into your laptop SD card reader and read the IP address from the filename on the root filesystem. It begins with 172.30.20
14. Write down the IP address - it needs to be entered in the TrackMan Baseball app later
15. Re-insert sd card into the camera
16. The tp-link and camera are now setup to use the B1 wifi with a specific IP address

NOTE: Whenever the camera is rebooted, it takes a while for it to start up. Please be patient, it can take up to three minutes before the camera display a solid blue light = IP address has been acquired.

1.3.2 OPTION B - Configure GL AR-300M16-Ext

In this option, the B1 will be retained as an access point and GL AR-300M16-Ext will extend the B1 wifi. The TrackMan App will connect to the GL AR-300M16-Ext wifi SSID.

1. Connect the USB cable between the camera and GL AR-300M (to power the wifi router) but do *not* connect the ethernet cable yet. Power ON the camera (which will power on the wifi router)
2. On your laptop/iPad connect to the GL AR-300M wifi SSID via the wireless connection menu (default wifi SSID and password is on the back of the wifi router)
3. Open a web browser and go to 192.168.8.1 (default wifi router IP address) and follow the initial screens to select the language and define an admin password.
4. Go to More settings-> LAN IP and change the address to a static IP. The TrackMan B1 wifi hotspot is 172.30.20.1 so you must use an IP in the same subnet as B1 - we recommend 172.30.20.100. The wifi router will reboot after clicking "Apply".
   
5. Reconnect to the GL AR-300M wifi SSID and then go to http://172.30.20.100 
6. Go to More settings-> network mode and change mode to become a wifi-extender (repeater) of the B1:
   
7. Click "Next", select the B1 wifi SSID (usually “TMBXXXXX”) and enter the wifi password for the B1 and click Apply.
8. Unplug power to the camera for a few seconds and then reconnect the power. Wait for ~45s while the camera and GL AR-300M boot (flashing red dot on the router means it finished booting and does not have internet connectivity = expected because it is a private wifi network with the B1)
9. Connect the Ethernet cable between the camera and wifi router's LAN port(!) and wait until the Edgertronic camera displays a solid blue light = camera has acquired an IP address.
10. Find the camera IP address on the SD card - see step 13 in "Option A" above. The IP address shall be 172.30.20.x and will stay the same as long as you keep the camera, SD card, and B1 together.

NOTE: Optional in both above steps: Rename the TPLink or GL AR-300M wifi SSID to something more distinguishable - for example "TMBXXX-Edger" (TMBXXX being the serial number for the connected B1). This makes it easier to identify which wifi hotspot to connect to when you are in a bullpen with multiple concurrently B1+camera setups.

1.3.3 OPTION C - Corporate wifi network

1. Connect your Edgertronic via Ethernet (or wifi router) to your corporate network.
2. Determine the IP address of your Edgertronic camera using the SD card method as above (see step 13 in "Option A" above).
3. Reconfigure your B1 to become a wifi-client of your corporate Network:
   1. Launch the TrackMan App and connect to the B1 as you would normally do
   2. Select the upper right menu -> TrackMan  and scroll down to the "Wireless Connection" section and select "Change connection mode":
      
   3. Follow the instructions. Note: You MUST ensure you enter the correct wifi SSID details otherwise your B1 will not be able to connect to the corporate network and you have to do a Factory reset to restore B1 to run in Wifi Access Point mode (default).
4. Open your iPad settings app and change your wifi connection to your corporate network
5. Open a Safari browser and enter the IP address from step2 and confirm you can view the Edgertronic webpage; this confirms your iPad, B1 and Edgertronic are all connected to the same network.

2. Start a practice session with Edgertronic and TrackMan

2.1 Before a session

Follow these steps to setup all components before a session:

1. Power on the B1.
2. Connect the camera to wifi router via USB cable which provides power to the router. Do NOT connect the ethernet cable yet.
3. Power on the camera which will also power on the wifi router. Wait for ~45 seconds to allow the camera and router to connect. You may see a flashing red light on the wifi router (GL AR-300M).
4. Connect the Ethernet cable between wifi router LAN port and camera and wait until the Edgertronic camera displays a solid blue light to confirm it has acquired an IP address (usually within ~10 seconds)
5. Open the TrackMan iPad settings App and connect the wifi with the SSID:
   1. If you use TP-link connect to B1 wifi SSID
   2. If you use GL AR-300M16-Ext connect to the B1 wifi SSID
   3. If you use a corporate network use that SSID
6. Launch the TrackMan App and tap on the camera button in the upper right corner next to the B1 status. This will open the camera configuration screen:
   
   
   
7. Enter the IP address for the camera (from step 1.3.x) and tap on the "Connect to camera" action:
8. After a few seconds, you will see a green "Connected" status.
   1. Note: As long as you use the same iPad, Camera, Wifi router, and B1 combination then the IP address will not change and you do not have to edit this in future sessions - just connect
9. Tap the "Res and FPS" selector drop-down to select the desired resolution and FPS.
   1. We provide 3 TrackMan configurations - not all of them may work with your camera (for example 1280x720 @ 1000 FPS only works on SC-2 hardware).
   2. We also retrieve the *current* camera settings so if you desire a custom configuration you can first set up your custom config using the Edgertronic Web interface and then launch the Trackman App to use that setting. In this screenshot, we configured a 993 FPS via Edgertronic WebUI
10. If required you may also change the shutter speed and ISO
11. Use the live video feed on the left side to verify the video being captured. Adjust your camera placement to ensure the desired action (for example ball release) is approximately in the center of the video and the camera lens is focused at ball release. Have a player on the mound extend their arm to simulate ball release.
12. Tap done.

2.2 Start a session and view video during a session

You are now ready to start a session

1. Tap the green start session button.
2. On the session-type toggle the "Setup external camera" to ON which will then instruct the app to manage and control the Edgertronic camera to capture video while tracking data. 
   
3. On the next screen, you then connect and configure the camera if you have not already done so. On this screen, you will also configure the clip duration (length of the video capture). The TrackMan app will automatically capture pitching video aligned around the time of release using a timeline where 0ms=release. You then configure begin of capture *before* release and the end of capture *after* release: 
   
4. Remember, the longer the video clip and the higher the fps; the longer it will take before the system is ready to capture video for the next subsequent pitch. For example when capturing video from -50ms to +150ms after release with 896x672px @1000fps then the system will be ready to capture a new video approximately every 9sec if you have a solid wifi router network strength.
5. Optionally, select "full ball flight" which will generate a video with two segments:
   1. A high-FPS video as described above (green segment)
   2. A low-FPS video for the remainder of the ball flight (orange segment)
   3. The app will then merge these two segments into one single video you can play. Use this to capture the full ball-flight (crossing the plate) and at the same time have the camera ready for the next video capture in 10-12sec (subject to video length) 
6. Tap "Next" in the upper right and your system is ready to capture data and video.
7. Select the video dashboard and throw a pitch. When the B1 detects a pitch it will communicate with the camera to capture a video and automatically transfer the video to the app. You will see a progress indicator in the video section.
   1. A few notes on the above. There are two parts to the experience:
      1. First, the video is captured and processed by Edgertronic. During this time, the camera status will turn orange and the system will NOT be able to capture any subsequent video. Once Edgertronic processing is complete (usually around 50% progress) then the camera will be ready for the next recording and the status line will turn green.
      2. Second, the video is then transferred to the app. During this time the system *can* capture a subsequent video even if the previous video is still transferring in parallel. When the video is received it will automatically display in the video section. You will also see a small green video icon in the pitch-list on the left sidebar in the app.
8. Anytime before/during or after capturing a pitch you may tag the pitch. You can also view select pitch measurements next to the video
9. The B1 system will always prioritize capturing data over video. This means even if the camera is busy when a player throws a subsequent pitch the system will capture data for that pitch and if the camera was not ready then the pitch will not have any video associated.
10. During a session you may make adjustments to video settings: Simply tap on the green camera icon to bring up the video configuration dialog and make necessary changes.
    1. Be aware while the video configuration dialog is open the system will not capture videos.

2.3 After a session

1. When a session is complete, the app will upload both data and videos to the cloud so that you (coaches and optionally players if you grant them access) can view this information on their own iPad
2. The app will always prioritize data upload and video upload can take anywhere from 5s to 20s per video depending on FPS and duration. You can view the video upload progress via the session sync details side pane. Remember to leave the app in the foreground and do not tap the device home button until all measurements and videos are synced. If needed you can also manually initiate an upload via the "Force Upload" button when connected to the internet:
   
3. The TrackMan integration names the video files on the Edgertronic SD card to match the measurementID for each pitch/hit. Using the data CSV export for a session you can then lookup/match the video on the SD card.