If you've got a svelte new
in-dash LCD with reverse assist, or even the
VideoMirror aiding your less-than-admirable backing skills, neither of those will do you much good if your precious bumper gets marred by someone else. Assisting lawyers and victims alike in making accident cases an exercise in simplicity, Fujitsu Ten (more commonly referred to as
Eclipse) is unveiling the DREC1000 Consumer Drive Recorder. Similar in function to
TruScene's TS-1L, this in-car sentry keeps a keen eye on your vehicle's surroundings, and if sudden braking / acceleration is detected, a 20 second video clip (complete with the bevy of expletives you're likely to spew) is recorded onto a 128MB CF card for
YouTube insurance purposes. The sensor box also reacts to jolts and sudden changes in driving patterns, activating the wide-angle CCD camera to capture the moments before and after a presumed incident; clips can be manually captured as well, and the device can hold up to 15 segments before the CF card reaches capacity or your vehicle is completely demolished. While ¥59,850 ($501) may seem a tad steep for continuous monitoring of your
Volkswagen minivan, the gifted few sporting a
Rolls Royce or
Tesla Roadster may see things a bit differently.
[Via
Far East Gizmos]
posted October 17th 2006 3:38PM
Youtube hilarity ensues!
One problem; the same fun can be had with a couple USB Webcams and a Neuros OSD:
http://open.neurostechnology.com/node/586
What's with the "BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD" post between every post?
lol this is great if it shows the other person is at fault, but if you're the one screwing up I would think that you would wish you had never bought this thing.
"DREC" stands for "drive recorder".
These recorders have been in use for a few years now in Japan, especially in taxis. Perhaps some of us have seen one like this:
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0406/03/news030.html
The above article is from June, 2004, and since around that time, the Japanese Department of Transportation have been researching the effectiveness of these recorders. The most recent report released in July this year found that not only you will be able to better prove your innocence in an accident, but also you are 22.7% less likely to cause an accident because you will drive more responsibly.
The particular model mentioned in Engadget's article could be the second generation of (or just delayed production of) the model mentioned in this August 2005 press release:
http://www.fujitsu-ten.co.jp/release/2005/08/20050805.html
Personally, I would like to have one of these installed in my car. It would be more interesting if you could connect it to your camcorder and record an entire trip. Of course, even if you become involved in an accident, you will be able to brag how many Gs you have endured, graphically:
http://image.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0406/03/l_jn_witness05.jpg
The 'YouTube' jibe is fscking hysterical. Best part of the whole article.
Shadyman: you and I are in the 0.1% of the marketplace that is willing to solve our own problems by combining off-the-shelf technology in a semi-obvious way. The mass market requires packaged solutions, or components that are co-marketed and clearly marked with the means for combining them. Like it says on the wall in my dev lab:
"You are not the end user."
Oh, forgot to mention: this would be far more useful with a 1GB card and multiple cameras so that when some bastard backs into my Audi's all-too-easily damaged plastic bumper cover and gouges the crap out of it, I can track him down and exact revenge. Or, at the very least, repayment.
Funny. The word Drec in Yiddish mean Sh!t.
Now it would be sweet if you can remotely start the recording so if you happen to start catching a thief in the process of trying to steal your car you have the evidence (even though I love my LoJack and have had my car stolen once already, this would be a nice addition when they recover the car and the thieves flee).
This sounds similar to TruScene, a system that records a constant 30 seconds and, when it senses an accident, saves the preceding 30 seconds as encrypted evidence.
Even works for parking accidents, as the clips demonstrate here:
http://www.truscene.com/sampleclip1-both.htm
What To Do At The Scene Of A Car Accident...
donate-your-car-yet.blogspot.com
What To Do At The Scene Of A Car Accident...
donate-your-car-yet.blogspot.com