Claudio Accheri
Car accidents, scam attempts, even meteorites hitting the atmosphere — videos recorded with dashboard cameras have become an undeniable internet sensation during the last few years.
A quick search on YouTube is enough to realise how the crash cameras have become a national trend in Russia, a country where the police corruption and the traffic scams are a routine for the everyday driver.
But the applications of a dashboard camera are not only restricted to these issues. How many times in the shock of an accident it is hard to recall what happened just a moment before? How many times does the aftermath of a car crash turn out to be a never-ending dispute or a painful research of witnesses?
In the last few years, the Japanese company Uniden has been providing a solution to these occurrences, offering consumers a wide range of ‘black box’ cameras.
With the incoming release of the iGO Cam 750, which will be available by June 2014, Uniden has extended the range, introducing a series of new features aimed to increase the ordinary road safety.
How it works
The camera can be either activated manually or automatically triggered by the built-in system, which is controlled by a G-sensor and a Collision Detection Mode. The combination of these features allows the camera to detect any sudden changes in motion, such as when an accident occurs, and to trigger the recording.
The footage is then instantly captured by a 170-degree ultra-wide angle lens, which the same field of view as a GoPro camera, to deliver a Full HD 1080p video stored on a microSD card.
The camera also features a loop-recording mode, which continuously records what is happening, and a GeoTagging system that saves details of the location where an incident occurred, as well as a night vision mode.
Recreational use and road safety applications
With 1080p Full HD quality recording, and the option to connect the camera to a television via HDMI or AV out, the iGO Cam 750 turns out to be an interesting tool for capturing scenic drives, and road-trip adventures, even time lapses of long-distance trips.
However, the real value of the camera relies in its road safety applications.
According to the Australian Transport Council, it is estimated that 20-to-30 per cent of all fatal crashes on Australian roads are due to fatigue. In order to face this matter and increase the road safety, the iGO Cam 750 includes a ‘Lane Assist’ feature to alert the driver through a visual and an audible signal when the vehicle is crossing a lane while in motion. This function could become a precious feature for motorists who undertake long distances drives or subjects affected by sleep disorders, preventing accidental calamities.
The iGO Cam 750 also includes a speed-camera warning system, which notifies imminent fixed speed cameras and red light cameras, reminding the driver to slow down and pay more attention.
The Uniden iGO Cam 750 is RRP $199.