360Fly Camera

[mspin]

I remember reading about this 360 degree camera a few months ago, and it appears it's about to finally launch. Sounds like they were a hit at CES this past week and are now taking pre-orders at $499.

Looking at the specs, though it may not be ideal as a dash cam, it could certainly be used as one (remains to be seen how things like auto-power, low light quality, loop recording, expansion beyond the 16GB internal, etc. are going to work out).

The main question though: how long before this technology becomes ubiquitous, and makes into dash cams?

More details: https://360fly.myshopify.com/products/360fly

 

[kamkar]

There seem to be quite a fjew simmilar solutions on the horizont, but i find it hard to find a good place to install it in a car.

For optimal use it have to be installed in the middle of the roof, this will sort of sort view forward and to the rear, but then the pillars in the side between the doors and the seats / heads of ppl will block a lot of the view to the siden.
Ans i assune it will allso have to be mountes some distance below the headliner to get optimal view angles out of the windows.

 

[Dashmellow]

There's been some previous discussion about the concept of placing a camera on the roof of a car to capture a 360 degree view. This technology would be perfect for such placement.

 

[kamkar]

Not stealthy, but with a google banner on the sides of the car i am sure you will be fine, that is countries that dont freak out over googles streetview cars.

I wouldent rule out myself geting one of these if i one day should have mony to burn.

 

[Dashmellow]

If the camera were to be mounted in a small dome on the roof that matches the color of the car it could be relatively stealthy. There would be no need to have something on the order of a Google StreetView camera on a regular vehicle.

 

[niko]

It's a similar to Kodak PixPro SP360
I had idea to mount it inside car centre ceiling for 24/7 parking monitoring. Could be also good for taxi, bus and other public or private use vehicles.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

360 in a rearview mirror would make the most sense. The rear part could capture video via a special one way reflective mirror glass etc. The front portion is easier of course. Not much you can do around blocked A-pillar unless X-ray vision or supplemental external cameras below the side mirrors are added and software stitched in.

 

[kuoh]

At 1504 x 1504 resolution divided around 360 degrees, I don't think it will make for a good dashcam...yet. Also the specs indicate a 240 degree FOV, which I take to mean it can't see behind itself, so essentially it's a 240 degree dashcam that can see more sky and ground. We already have dashcams capable of 170 degrees now and many people don't like the distortion and lack of detail that type of lens provides. This isn't much different, except for the viewing software, which appears to apply some correction algorithm. As for mounting, there are definitely drawbacks to both traditional and non-traditional locations currently used for dashcams. In the typical forward pointing windshield/mirror location, you will no doubt get much more side coverage, but there will also be a lot of pixels wasted for the sky, hood and dash areas. On the rooftop, it would have to be raised up noticeably to prevent the roof itself from blocking the view of the surrounding cars. Inside the cabin, it would give a good view of the interior, but exposure issues will probably prevent good images of action outside of the windows under many situations.

I think multiple exterior cameras stitched together via software, much like what some high end vehicle parking / cornering systems do today would be better suited for our needs, as no single 360 degree camera will be able to see through metal and fabric...yet. I would prefer to see continued improvement of low light performance, WDR, lens, image clarity and lower costs in the current generation of products.

KuoH

 

[niko]

At 1504 x 1504 resolution divided around 360 degrees, I don't think it will make for a good dashcam...yet. Also the specs indicate a 240 degree FOV, which I take to mean it can't see behind itself, so essentially it's a 240 degree dashcam that can see more sky and ground. We already have dashcams capable of 170 degrees now and many people don't like the distortion and lack of detail that type of lens provides. This isn't much different, except for the viewing software, which appears to apply some correction algorithm. As for mounting, there are definitely drawbacks to both traditional and non-traditional locations currently used for dashcams. In the typical forward pointing windshield/mirror location, you will no doubt get much more side coverage, but there will also be a lot of pixels wasted for the sky, hood and dash areas. On the rooftop, it would have to be raised up noticeably to prevent the roof itself from blocking the view of the surrounding cars. Inside the cabin, it would give a good view of the interior, but exposure issues will probably prevent good images of action outside of the windows under many situations.

I think multiple exterior cameras stitched together via software, much like what some high end vehicle parking / cornering systems do today would be better suited for our needs, as no single 360 degree camera will be able to see through metal and fabric...yet. I would prefer to see continued improvement of low light performance, WDR, lens, image clarity and lower costs in the current generation of products.

KuoH

Its must be 360 degree on horizontal axis and 240 degree on vertical axis, - so its actually can see / record all around and above you, but not completely under itself.
I agree, with such resolutions divided by 360 degree view and also taking factor of roof as an obstacle if mounted there, then its is no a great dashcam solution. The only place I would use such solution is inside centre of car ( ceiling ) as mentioned earlier.