Horsewhip features data acquisition system

Matlab has been used to help develop a new electronic horsewhip that will allay growing criticisms of cruelty to animals in horseracing.

Matlab, The MathWorks' flagship technical computing language and environment, has been used to help develop a new electronic horsewhip that will allay growing criticisms of cruelty to animals in horseracing.

Recently featured on the BBC's "Tomorrow's World", the Register has been invented by Dublin bookmaker Reg Cregan to set a measurable standard for jockeys by recording the force and frequency of its use during a race.

Matlab was used to process the data gathered by the whip and was chosen for its quick development time, required I/O and graphical display features.

The whip uses proprietary sensors in its tip to accurately measure each blow and an 8bit Motorola microcontroller in its handle to record the data.

Matlab was used to read the electronic signals generated by the whip and process this data either in real time or post-acquisition.

This involved recording all waveforms resulting from use of the whip, storing the time and amplitude of the waveform pattern and graphically displaying these data on screen.

This process offers the authorities a comprehensive solution to the issue of whip use by providing racecourse stewards with accurate feedback immediately after every race.

The whip took just two months to develop for the demonstration on the BBC.

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