If anything, I think it would be cool to build a starting gate just as a fun project, not necessarily to employ it with any sort of formality. Of course I would want to use it if it became functional to add to the fun.
I say find someone with mechanical skills that complement your electronic skills and go for it! If I lived around I would want to help out, although my electro/mechanical skills wouldn't be quite up to par to execute it on my own.
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste