Hardware · GPS and inertial
OBD Log Trace: GPS and G-force to measure performance
A device with high-rate GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope and its own battery, which measures launches, braking, G-force and lap times on any vehicle.
The Trace
What it does for you
Fixed to the car, the Trace sends position and motion to the app, which brings it all together with the engine data.
See the Race pageLaunches and braking
Acceleration and braking times measured with more accuracy than the phone's GPS.
Lap times
It becomes the position source for the Race lap timer, with laps and sectors.
G-force
Acceleration forward, backward and in corners, along with the racing line.
Any vehicle
Works even without an OBD connector: motorcycle, kart, classic car.
Accuracy
Why not just the phone's GPS
For launches, braking and lap times, the phone's GPS is too slow.
- A phone delivers one position per second, and with a delay.
- The Trace delivers several positions per second.
- Position is combined with the accelerometer, which senses the motion between one position and the next.
Day to day
It stays in the car and looks after itself
Made to stay in the car: it goes into standby and comes back by itself.
Power
- Its own replaceable battery: it does not depend on the car's power socket.
- Charges over USB-C while in use.
- In standby, only Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stay on; GPS and sensors are off.
- When the app is about to use the Trace, it leaves standby by itself and turns on GPS and sensors.
- After 5 minutes disconnected from the phone or the app, it hibernates to save battery.
One button and one LED
The button wakes it from hibernation and puts it into hibernation.
- Blue
- pairing
- Green
- has signal
- Amber
- battery
- Red
- error
Updates
Updates through the app, with automatic rollback if the new version fails, or over USB.
Comparison
How the Trace compares
Side by side with the phone's GPS and with common telemetry boxes. Comparison by category: “Varies” when there is no rule.
See the full comparisonPosition rate
- OBD Log Trace
- 10 Hz
- Phone GPS
- 1 Hz
- Common telemetry boxes
- Varies
Accelerometer on the same timeline as GPS
- OBD Log Trace
- Yes, with the OBD Log app
- Phone GPS
- Varies, with the OBD Log app
- Common telemetry boxes
- Varies
Engine data on the same timeline
- OBD Log Trace
- Yes, with the OBD Log app
- Phone GPS
- Yes, with the OBD Log app
- Common telemetry boxes
- Usually not
AI analyzing the session
- OBD Log Trace
- Yes, with the OBD Log app
- Phone GPS
- Yes, with the OBD Log app
- Common telemetry boxes
- Usually not
Replaceable battery
- OBD Log Trace
- Yes, 18650
- Phone GPS
- Not applicable
- Common telemetry boxes
- Varies
OBD Log PRO included when linked
- OBD Log Trace
- Yes
- Phone GPS
- —
- Common telemetry boxes
- —
Specifications
Technical specifications
For those who want the numbers and the components. The design may still change before sale.
- GPS position
- 10Hz
- Accelerometer and gyroscope
- 100Hz
- Fused position and acceleration
- 25Hz
- Typical battery life
- ~18h
- u-blox NEO-M8N GNSS receiver, with accelerometer and gyroscope.
- A Kalman filter fuses GPS and sensors and delivers position, speed and longitudinal and lateral acceleration.
- Every sample is stamped by the GPS pulse-per-second (PPS): engine, position and G-force share the same clock.
- The Trace may sit crooked, as long as it is fixed: it learns its mounting angle by itself and warns if it was moved.
- Talks to the phone over Bluetooth (BLE) day to day, or Wi-Fi when it needs bandwidth.
- Replaceable 18650 battery, which handles dashboard heat better than LiPo. It does not charge above 45 °C.
- USB-C for charging and firmware updates.
Limits
What it does not do
Better you know up front: the Trace has a defined focus.
- No SD card: data goes straight to the app, which stores it and sends it to your account.
- No compass (magnetometer): heading comes from GPS, with the vehicle moving.
- It cannot be loose: if it moves during use, the measured G-force comes out wrong.
Use the lap timer today
The Trace is still in development. Race already works with the phone's GPS in the Beta.