showstack / hardware / blacktrax-system
BlackTrax
Infrared beacon tracking system of BTSensor cameras and a server that outputs live position data to lighting, audio and media systems. Used to make followspots, spatial audio and mapped video chase a performer automatically.
Protocols it speaks
| Protocol | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| rttrpm | out | RTTrP is CAST's open real-time tracking protocol, with RTTrPM and RTTrPL variants for third-party systems. |
Connectors
- Ethernet between BTSensors and the BlackTrax server
What to watch for
Server tier sets the hard ceilings. BT-1 covers 900 m2 with 8 sensors and 20 unique IDs, BT-3 covers 1200 m2 with 12 sensors and 40 IDs, and BT-U goes to 54,000 m2 with 50+ sensors and 255 IDs. Adding beacons to an undersized server is not an option on the day.
Every tracked object needs a beacon with a battery and a line of sight to enough sensors. Costume, scenery and crowd positions all block IR, so the sensor plot is a design job, not a rigging afterthought.
The system delivers position data, nothing more. Every consumer of that data needs its own configuration to turn coordinates into a fixture position, a sound object or a mapped surface.
Sources
- BlackTrax — CAST Software — CAST Group primary
- Real-Time Tracking Protocol wiki — BlackTrax — RTTrP project
Understand the mechanism
Something wrong, or missing?
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