SEMA 2025

@SC@AU I hear you.
A friend managed to hit a roo and the car survived. However the bonnet had an inprint of it most likely because it was mid jump. Required bonnet replaced and panel beating etc.
I don't like driving at dusk especially in warm weather as they like to sit on the warm road usually around a blind corner to the driver lol.
Sorry a little off topic.
The Vantrue might suit some situations perhaps not kangaroo avoidance.
 
SC@AU said:
If a Kangaroo jumps out on you ā€“ your car is done for..!
Where I am, in the hills outside of Perth, I find it hard to believe some fancy radar tech is really going to prevent an incident ā€“ lots of curvy roads, blind corners, thick bush and trees and they have a nasty habit of being most active at dusk, just that amount of low light where they blend into the road verge in stealth mode!
Some years back I had a very close call at night, driving home in a week old new car ā€“ it was actually my wife who saw the Roo and shouted out, if she hadnā€™t it might have been a different outcomeā€¦
Youā€™re actually lucky if you see them before itā€™s too late ā€“ so tech reaction times in addition to driver reaction times seems a moot point to meā€¦.

Besides, Radars are banned in WAā€¦Annoyingly! ā€“ I have the speeding fines to prove it! šŸ˜³
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I remember the days in Perth when radars were allowed, now the fun is over haha
 
So I shot the full Vantrue video today, and one thing I learned was that their display also has CarPlay support which makes it more viable to keep on the dash fulltime.

More details: 2K front/rear, 1080p interior. MSRP will be $599. Everyday price should be closer to $500. Kickstarter price should be even lower. I believe it'll be on Kickstarter around March, but I'll have to doublecheck the dates from the video.

I'm not experienced with infrared cams, but I know a couple people who run them and have tested multiple others so I've let Vantrue know as far as who'd be good to send test units to. They seemed very receptive to feedback which I'm very glad to see. I think after a bunch of the most recent "hey your parking mode sucks" feedback they've gotten and they weren't aware was an issue, they've opened up to listening to customers more now.

Today I shot videos at Dongar, Vantrue, Vueroid, Rexing, and Wolfbox/Redtiger.

Rexing was a bit of a surprise. I've always kinda written them off with their big bulky V1 series dashcams, but they've been coming out with some really interesting and creative new models. They've got a thinner line of V1's that are more like Viofos with cheaper Chinese sensors, they have a 4K/4K dual IMX678 model, an LTE model that can also ready vehicle info over OBD, several 4CH dashcams with 2 side cams, an add-on radar module like Thinkware except theirs is designed to scan both front and rear, etc. I don't know how good any of their dashcams are, but I was surprised how much they've changed compared to what I've seen before.

Looooots of videos to start working on next week. I've been shooting both detailed long form videos as well as shorts of individual dashcams.

It's also been cool running into fellow YouTubers. Of course it's always fantastic seeing @rcg530, @SafeDriveSolutions, @Chuck McCoy, and @seattledashcams. They're all awesome people. AlexFun is also at the show and he's a cool guy in person as well.
 
mentadent said:
I find exciting:
  • @viofo's new battery pack with Bluetooth looks very interesting. Similar to their new hardwire kits with the Bluetooth. Looks like it can be extended to multiple batteries
  • Vantrue's new thermal camera. I tested a thermal dashcam a while back, but Vantrue's looks much more discreet. I hope I get to test this one @Jeff_Vantrue !
Thank you for sharing @Vortex Radar
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Was told the thermal camera was kept under wraps but clearly not if shown at SEMA! Test units going out I think relatively soon from Vantrue.
 
mentadent said:
There are a lot of people who have had issues with things like deer jumping into the road, and would pay for devices that help mitigate it, like this dashcam if it alerts the driver, noise makers on car etc. Two friends have destroyed their car on animals on the road.
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I'm guessing this camera is going to be geared more towards Truck Drivers than your every day driver. Truck drivers risk hitting deer or big animals and put millions of KM on the road each year. I do think SOME consumers will benefit from the camera, too. I'll have a sample in hand and test it out myself (bugs and otherwise).

My main concern is the camera must be routed into the firewall and would require significant disassembly of my vehicle to access (from what I read). Remove glovebox and other stuff stuff. I think @EricSan may undertake that installation. I may just route wire into window or so some work around for testing purposes. Volvos aren't user friendly vehicles for accessing the firewall.
 
jsmith said:
I'm guessing this camera is going to be geared more towards Truck Drivers than your every day driver. Truck drivers risk hitting deer or big animals and put millions of KM on the road each year. I do think SOME consumers will benefit from the camera, too. I'll have a sample in hand and test it out myself (bugs and otherwise).

My main concern is the camera must be routed into the firewall and would require significant disassembly of my vehicle to access (from what I read). Remove glovebox and other stuff stuff. I think @EricSan may undertake that installation. I may just route wire into window or so some work around for testing purposes. Volvos aren't user friendly vehicles for accessing the firewall.
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I agree it only seems to have limited utility, mainly for those who live outside urbanised areas (minority compared to those who live inside), and business truck drivers as you say

For others, i still believe it's a limited case usage scenario and what does it do better than existing inbuilt ADAS systems. Don't get me wrong, cool concept thermal imaging and all, but niche product.
 
Augustus said:
For others, i still believe it's a limited case usage scenario and what does it do better than existing inbuilt ADAS systems. Don't get me wrong, cool concept thermal imaging and all, but niche product.
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I suspect there's a lot of vehicles on the road without any built-in ADAS functions, but maybe I'm behind the times.
 
TonyM said:
I suspect there's a lot of vehicles on the road without any built-in ADAS functions, but maybe I'm behind the times.
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Certainly in underdeveloped countries but in other developed markets, i suspect it would swing the other way.
 
TonyM said:
I suspect there's a lot of vehicles on the road without any built-in ADAS functions, but maybe I'm behind the times.
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I think most newer cars in the past few years integrate forward collision avoidable. Volvo has a standard City Safety, although I'm not sure if this includes large animals. It's suppose to engage only if it detects an imminent crash. Knock on wood, I've never had city safety go off.

I'm sure there plenty of cars without large animal detection around the world. Still, I would surmise that commercial truckers are the target market. Driving millions of KM a year, truckers have the highest risk of hitting a Deer, Moose, Kangaroo, or whatever large game populates a given country. Yes, cars also hit animals, but most people around the world still don't own dashcams. I don't see a thermal cam as being top of their list, which is why Truck Drivers / Trucking Companies are the likely consumer. Trucks are very costly to purchase, expensive to repair, require significant stopping distance, and technology that can aid in avoiding a collision is likely to be considered.

My outlook, whether it be right or wrong.
 
Augustus said:
Certainly in underdeveloped countries but in other developed markets, i suspect it would swing the other way.
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Agreed. Somehow I don't foresee the amazonian tribes hopping in their modern vehicles or the poor villagers found throughout the various African Countries ponying up to add Thermal Cameras. Hell, whenever you see cars on their streets in online footage, half of them are lucky just to be running.....
 
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Augustus said:
Certainly in underdeveloped countries but in other developed markets, i suspect it would swing the other way.
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OK. It seems that I'm not aware of what modern cars can do.
 
Augustus said:
Don't you have a recent year Corolla that has ADAS?
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2021. It does make a noise if it thinks I'm going to hit a car in front.
 
TonyM said:
2021. It does make a noise if it thinks I'm going to hit a car in front.
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Hmm might wanna check out what other stuff it has. Surely it has AEB and other things like blind spot monitoring etc
 
Augustus said:
Hmm might wanna check out what other stuff it has. Surely it has AEB and other things like blind spot monitoring etc
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There are some ADAS features like adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning, admittedly I've turned off lane departure warning. Unfortunately there's no blind spot monitor on this car.

My original point was that I thought ADAS was not so common, but on reflection I can see I was wrong.
 
Augustus said:
I agree it only seems to have limited utility, mainly for those who live outside urbanised areas (minority compared to those who live inside), and business truck drivers as you say

For others, i still believe it's a limited case usage scenario and what does it do better than existing inbuilt ADAS systems. Don't get me wrong, cool concept thermal imaging and all, but niche product.
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I live in a rural area and have hit several deer and various other animals. My experience has been that you see the animal just as you hit it, during night hours, anyway. Animals, especially deer, seem to suffer fright and jump in front of the car at the last moment. At night, it is particularly dangerous. During daylight hours, I have seen deer do the same; I have also watched them cross a field, jump the fence, and run in front of me, never having seen me.

A HUD projected onto the windshield is one thing, but I am not sure whether taking my eyes off the road to look at a screen that alerts me to an animal on the road is wise. It would certainly slow reaction time and braking.
 
TonyM said:
There are some ADAS features like adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning, admittedly I've turned off lane departure warning. Unfortunately there's no blind spot monitor on this car.

My original point was that I thought ADAS was not so common, but on reflection I can see I was wrong.
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Forward collision warning would likely include large Animal Detection, although does it also brake if it detects a crash is imminent or just sound an alarm?
 
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