Project Chronos

Project Chronos is a C# GUI application designed to host one or more FLIR/Teledyne Blackfly S cameras using the Spinnaker SDK. The signature feature is an easy to use live-view GUI with a configurable rolling camera buffer: the app continuously stores the most recent high-frame-rate video in RAM (uncompressed or lightly compressed for speed), then on a trigger (keystroke, presentation remote, or hardware input) it saves the last few seconds to disk and can optionally launch an FFmpeg post-process to generate a smaller, shareable slow-motion clip (for example, 240 fps capture rendered to 30 fps). 

With BFS-U3-16S2M-CS cameras, typical operation is around 220 fps at 1440×1080, and higher frame rates are possible by reducing the region of interest; with adequate lighting, exposure times down to roughly 4 microseconds can produce exceptionally crisp detail. Each capture is automatically saved into a timestamped subfolder for clean organization and automatically synced to our team for review with the students. 

Greg Marconnet and his team have used high-speed cameras for this application for over a decade, but Project Chronos has streamlined what was previously a very labor-intensive workflow. Historically, using high-speed Sony point-and-shoot cameras, it took roughly 10 minutes to transfer, trim, convert, and share footage. That process is now largely automated and typically completed within 10 to 30 seconds of the break (depending on the number of cameras and the computer’s performance).

Test Stands powered by CHRONOS save substantial time and labor, especially at larger meets that may include up to 60 Division B (middle school) teams and 60 Division C (high school) teams competing.