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configured without user input. There is no need to
address each display individually.
The main flag control screen is designed to be
very simple to operate. The interface shows a
generalised track layout with a menu of pages
down the left side. These menus provide a range
of smart configuration options to define how
the system is setup. Each flag point is identified
around the circuit. One or more displays can be
manually or automatically assigned to a selected
flag point with a simple point-and-click interface.
Each Mímirbox is shown as a small icon on the
circuit map.
One or all flags can be changed with two mouse
clicks. Where appropriate, flags will alternate with
a race number to identify a specific car. Single
yellow flags are shown as a slow flash, while
double yellows are a fast flash. Mímirbox has a full
library of all the known worldwide motorsport flag
sets. Additional flags and/or custom flags
can be added as required. This can include
sponsors logos to provide tracks with an
additional income stream. This custom flag
feature can also accept text, movies, JPEGs
and bitmaps for static or animated custom
displays.
The elements of safety engineering incorporated
into the design of Mímirbox are
largely invisible to the user, but the benefits
are not. As part of the safety protocol, when
a flag is assigned to a flag point it doesn't
change colour on the main flag control page
immediately, it goes to a darker halftone
and then changes to the assigned flag. The
message is sent to the display, as part of the
safety protocol, the display acknowledges
that it's received it (the halftone) and the
action is completed (fulltone). In addition to
the safety aspects, the user gets continuous
visual confirmation that display is working
properly.
If the display had failed, there would be no
reply and the icon would remain in the intermediate
halftone state. Failure to complete
the message transaction would be clearly
indicated to the user. This fail-safe response
to a transactional message sequence is one
of the features of a safety engineered system.
The benefit to the user is that they don’t need
to see the display to be confident that it is
working and showing the correct flag.
If a display loses contact with the server, the
Mímirbox logo is displayed rather than a blank
screen. This display, as it’s not a racing flag, is
a clear message to drivers that the display has
malfunctioned; another example of ‘fail safe’
behaviour built into Mímirbox.
To prevent ambiguity with a blank screen, the
traditional black flag is displayed as a white
diagonal cross on a black background similar
to the Nascar version.
The server is user configured so that specific
displays can only show the flags appropriate
to their location. For instance a start and finish
flag point can only display the start and finish
flags. The different zones also dictate which
kinds of flags can be displayed at each point.
The system is smart enough to only allow safe
configurations of flags.
As well as being a smart C3 application the
Mímirbox system is also economical as it was
designed kart racing. Kart racing circuits don't
have a lot of disposable funds, so the systems
must work and be affordable.
The tricky part with Mímirbox is getting
prospective users to look past the fancy
box with the flashing lights and look at the
software. This is a sophisticated C3 software
product first, with hardware attached. By
virtue of its flexibility, its applications are only
limited by users’ ability to think outside the
box. The modular design of both the hardware
and software make it readily adaptable and
configurable. Mímirbox is currently being used
for testing colour blindness and it is under
consideration for high end London retail for
shop dressing. Mímirbox is a product with a
multitude of uses. It is packed with features by
design that make it simple and easy to use.
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