Live From Daytona 500: BSI Prioritizes Consistent Testing, Driver Safety With Visor Cam

16/02/2020

Live From Daytona 500: BSI Prioritizes Consistent Testing, Driver Safety With Visor Cam The company is using the iconic race to test improvements to picture quality By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor

Saturday, February 15, 2020 - 5:40 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Embracing a stock-car-racing lifestyle comes with risks. Reaching speeds upwards of 200 mph, drivers face danger at every turn. At the Daytona 500, Broadcast Sports International (BSI) will give fans a glimpse of what it's like behind the wheel with Visor Cams on the helmets of two participating drivers: No. 48 Jimmie Johnson and No. 77 Ross Chastain.

The helmet of both Jimmie Johnson (pictured here) and Ross Chastain will be equipped with a Visor Cam.

NASCAR has been great over the years about having this gear in the cars, says Peter Larsson, president, BSI. They've really gone a long way to make sure that the cars that aren't carrying a camera have the equivalent weights and aerodynamic shape.

MORE FROM DAYTONA 500

Fox Sports Headlines 20th Consecutive Year With FPV Racing Drone, 80-Ft. Strada Crane

SMT Digitizes 62-Year-Old Race With Broadcast, Team Data-Tracking

Fox Sports' Mike Davies and Dave Hill Preview the Network's 20th Consecutive Season

NASCAR Productions Embraces At-Home Production Model for Super Bowl of Racing

Game Creek Video Provides Total Structural Backbone in the Compound

Fox Sports Stresses Audio From the Loudest Sport on Earth

Photo Gallery: A Weekend at the Daytona 500

Guess and Check: Testing Becomes a Crucial Step in the Process

In special cases like the Visor Cam, the BSI team did their due diligence in the research and development lab. Over the past six months, testing was done to ensure that Johnson and Chastain would be equipped with a reliable and durable product.

There were tests where they would put the helmet on a big steel block and drop these heavy weights on it, because one of the big things that you didn't want to happen was there be enough mass or solidness left in the camera that it could split the helmet open in a severe impact, says Larsson. There also was a lot of sled testing where they would put a dummy in a sled with weight and slide it down a 30-ft. path into a brick wall.

In the testing stages, the technical team wanted to make sure that, during a crash, the camera would essentially disintegrate and detach from the driver's helmet.

There's a certain range of motion that your neck can expand before it will sustain any permanent damage, he says. [NASCAR] wanted to see if there was going to be an increase in movement because of the extra weight. So they did an awful lot of work to make sure that there'd be no extra danger.

Some drivers may deem this application a bit intrusive, but BSI reassured them on the effort's intended purpose and gained their trust.

The biggest concern was an issue of liability because there's a big difference between a driver's choosing to put a GoPro-esque device on a helmet and our telling them to do it, Larsson explains. There are still some drivers that say no, and that's fine, but we tried to make [this device] as small, light, and non-intrusive as possible.

These helmet POV cameras will give fans a view from the driver's perspective.

Prepare for the Worst: Development for Possible Contingency Plans

As Johnson and Chastain fly down the track, the chance of these POV cameras going offline greatly increases. Despite all the testing that these cameras went through, a high-speed impact could potentially do severe damage. All Larsson and his team can do is hold their breath and hope for the best possible result.

It's in the lap of the TV gods at that point, says Larsson. In the old days at Daytona, the pit stops, albeit intense, were a little more leisurely. [NASCAR] would actually let us get in and get to the stuff in the car. [My team] does a good job at testing, but it's just going to be what it's going to be.

In case something actually breaks, BSI has a building in the infield near pit row that turns into a makeshift repair shop.

If it breaks, he explains, you can get two bad pieces and get enough to create substantial machining capabilities back in the office. The camera shop will fix anything that we send them. We lose very few [cameras], he adds. If there is a wreck or something like that, the only time we actually lose equipment is if there's a fire or when the cars [slide] into the wall.

Same Sport, Different Procedure: How Visor Cam Changes for Indy 500

NASCAR isn't the only motorsport where Visor Cams make an appearance. In 3 months, the Indianapolis 500 will deploy these cameras on certain drivers on the IndyCar circuit. Besides the car's being an entirely different structure, other challenges come with what would seem a similar camera deployment.

The basic concepts are the same, Larsson points out. Indy is a specific animal just because the speeds are so fast, and, with the catch fencing, the RF is more difficult.

RF implementation varies given the different capacities at each venue. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for example, seats about 235,000 people and, with the area in the infield, can accommodate about 400,000. Daytona International Speedway, on the other hand, seats about 101,500 people, with a maximum of about 168,000 including the infield.

You go up there, set up, test, and you think everything's all right, but, when race day comes [at the Indy 500], everything is totally different because you start getting all these microwaves that are sitting in the stands, Larsson adds. Since Daytona is a much more open environment, the [team] has a lot more experience to know exactly where things need to be to get a better product out there.

Always Improving: BSI Uses Daytona T

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/02/15/live-from-daytona-500-bsi-prior...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

19/03/2026

How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games

How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games Chris Bolte '16 is a technical sound designer at Sucker Punch Productions, where he helps create the...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026