201303.pdf 36567KB Mar 22 2013 09:11:22 PM

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Dash-cam video: benefit or distraction?
In th e wake of the recent
meteor strike in Russia, the
prevalence of dash-cam video
and stills has been brought to
the front of discussions. The
vast availability of vehicles
with these devices—most with
resolution ranging from VGA
to 1080p—makes for a great
source of scientific content for
analyzing such an event.
The cameras, most with
MicroSD storage for the DVR,
record 30 to 60
minutes of video
and then re-record
the loop. The goal
is to help document
accidents and
determine fault.
The diversity of
dash cams also has
a range of “ease of
use” levels. The typical
dash cam uses
a suction mount to
connect it to the
front window. Just
as with navigation
systems, phones,
radar detectors, toll
tags, parking stickers,
and so on, it is
(a)
DILBERT By Scott Adams
another device or obstacle that
consumes the precious visibility
area of the front window. This
device, however, requires buttons
to control, and in some
models has a distracting screen
that is in the driver’s line of sight.
While the benefits of OEM
cameras that can record activities
with a control view into
the car AV system (as is done
with the rear-view cameras) are
obvious, the aftermarket ones
need some controls. For example,
the problem that results
from the sale of the image of the
meteor is drivers chasing after
events for video content, rather
than observing traffic and the
road. If the focus of the driver
is on the scene or to properly
capture the events as they are
happening, there is a strong
chance that this will affect the
number of accidents that are
occurring on the roadways.
Just as when YouTube was
first launched, there is a flood
of “in car” video and photos
of people trying to get recognized
doing stupid things or
capture events that are re-sellable
as unique. The difference
in this case is that to re-point
the lens you need to re-point
the vehicle.
The most common use in
the United States is actually incabin-facing
cameras for cabs,
public transit, limos, and airport
transportation. These cameras
are manually controlled
and used to protect passenger
safety.
The typical dashboard camera uses a suction mount to connect it to the
front window (a). Some models, however, have a distracting screen that is
in the driver’s line of sight (b).
(b)
The outfacing cameras are a
new application. A few of the
designs are unobtrusive, being
integrated with the rear-view
mirror or existing alongside
driver-assist and lane-change
warning cameras. The United
States has not determined
whether dash cams are good
With the
addition of
interactive video
screens, the
time spent
looking at the
road is
dropping.
or bad. To date, there are no
rules or regulations about them,
other than you cannot put one
on the front window directly in
front of the driver.
The question that comes
to mind is whether the level
of AV and integration with
mobile devices is overwhelming
the driver. While attempts
are being made to keep the
driver’s hands on the wheel
with hands-free accessories,
the limits of visual awareness
and ability to process the information
are coming into play.
With the addition of interactive
and engaging video screens,
live-playback content on dash
cams, rear-view cameras, and
infotainment, the time spent
looking at the road and other
cars or people is dropping.
Automotive designers need
to have a system-level integration
of all of these AV feeds into
a single area. That integration
will allow for the control of the
feeds to a single display that
can manage the appropriate
time to display the information
based on the driver’s activities.
Just as infotainment systems
support AUX inputs for
audio from headphone jacks,
the need to bring multichannel
and multisource AV via, for
example, MHL, wireless, and
HDMI to this central console
will allow these functions to be
safely used in vehicles.
—by Pallab Chatterjee
▷Automotive Innovation
blog, www.edn.com/
4408061
16 EDN | March 2013 [ www.edn.com ]