Taking stills at intervals instead of video

[marauder]

Hello all;

Total novice here. Looking at putting cameras in a couple of vehicles for a project. Thing is, they don't want the typical dashcam behavior of continuous loop video with saving on event. Instead, they simply want to capture still images at regular intervals (say 5 minute intervals for sake of argument). Ultimately want to upload these stills to a server to be displayed on a website. There's already a modem (linux based) in the vehicles to provide a 3G/4G internet connection, and could potentially pull pics via USB if that's needed. Want the entire process automated, without any interaction from the driver.

Spent some time searching the 'net, but haven't found a camera that might support such a scenario. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

Edit: Probably should have posted in the "What to buy" section. Feel free to move!

 

[Dashmellow]

Hello all;

Total novice here. Looking at putting cameras in a couple of vehicles for a project. Thing is, they don't want the typical dashcam behavior of continuous loop video with saving on event. Instead, they simply want to capture still images at regular intervals (say 5 minute intervals for sake of argument). Ultimately want to upload these stills to a server to be displayed on a website. There's already a modem (linux based) in the vehicles to provide a 3G/4G internet connection, and could potentially pull pics via USB if that's needed. Want the entire process automated, without any interaction from the driver.

Spent some time searching the 'net, but haven't found a camera that might support such a scenario. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

Edit: Probably should have posted in the "What to buy" section. Feel free to move!

The Mobius action camera would be a good candidate for what you want to do as it has extensive control for capturing time lapse footage via its computer based GUI.
Time Lapse photos are taken with the camera as stills in Photo-Mode that are presented as a video.

Forget the notion of an entirely automated process as such technology is not practical and does not exist to date on dash cams. The user would need to manually remove the files from the camera's microSD card when it is not engaged in capturing footage or stills.

I'm interested to know why anyone would want to record a train of images at five minute intervals. Such captures would miss an enormous number of events during a drive and individual image captures would be essentially useless even for crude time-lapse video. Perhaps the idea is to feature some sort of ongoing travelogue snippets on the website?

 

[marauder]

Thanks for your reply!

The application in question isn't really a typical "dash cam" incident capture scenario. Instead, it's more for capturing road conditions for public works. I started looking at dashcams mainly for the form factor and LCD display, but functionality wise something like an IP Camera (security type stuff) might be better suited.

 

[Sunny]

Almost all dashcams have photo mode with different options on time interval it takes a picture.
I don't use photo mode but will check menu options on some.

 

[Dashmellow]

Thanks for your reply!

The application in question isn't really a typical "dash cam" incident capture scenario. Instead, it's more for capturing road conditions for public works. I started looking at dashcams mainly for the form factor and LCD display, but functionality wise something like an IP Camera (security type stuff) might be better suited.

Yes, it sounds like an IP camera is more of what you need. In my state, there are web sites run by state government that do exactly what you have in mind as they show as stream of constantly updated stills of traffic conditions on certain major highways.
In fact, all US states have publicly viewable traffic cameras accessible on the web. Considering the extreme weather conditions a suitable camera would need to endure throughout the year, an appropriate weatherproof IP CCTV surveillance camera would be required. A dash cam would never work for such a purpose.

If you work in a public works capacity your state government should certainly have access to the resources for such things so I'm not sure why you are here asking about dash cams. If you need more information, the best thing to do might be to contact your DOT officials or an official in an adjacent state. To my knowledge all 50 states plus Washington DC already have these types of web based traffic cameras in service. You can access all of them along with other related information HERE.

Edit: Some state police cruisers do have some form of mobile capacity for this sort of thing but I don't know what technology is in use.

 

[marauder]

Thanks Sunny. I have seen some cameras with a button to allow users to take a picture, but haven't read about the time interval feature. I've also seen a couple mention the ability to hook up a panic button to trigger picture taking - this could be useful as well. I could use the modem in a vehicle to automatically trigger this style of input at the desired interval.

 

[marauder]

Yes, it sounds like an IP camera is more of what you need. In my state, there are web sites run by state government that do exactly what you have in mind as they show as stream of constantly updated stills of traffic conditions on certain major highways.
In fact, all US states have publicly viewable traffic cameras accessible on the web. Considering the extreme weather conditions a suitable camera would need to endure throughout the year, an appropriate weatherproof IP CCTV surveillance camera would be required. A dash cam would never work for such a purpose.

If you work in a public works capacity your state government should certainly have access to the resources for such things so I'm not sure why you are here asking about dash cams. If you need more information, the best thing to do might be to contact your Highway Department officials or an official in an adjacent state. To my knowledge all 50 states plus Washington DC already have these types of web based traffic cameras in service. You can access all of them along with other related information HERE.

Thanks. I'm actually Canadian

Yes, what we essentially want to do is akin to the highway cameras, but to have it in-vehicle so no need for weatherproofing. To use your harsh weather situation, picture one of these cameras in a snow plow while the operator is clearing roads during a weather event. These still pictures would give a better indication of road conditions than a statically mounted camera could. The in-vehicle requirement is what started me down the dashcam path, though as I learn more about them I realize it's probably not the best choice.

 

[Dashmellow]

Canada also has similar web based camera systems, such as in BC - HERE.

I can see the merit of having cameras in a snow plow but I think you would probably need a more robust technology than a consumer dash cam. Where I live in northern New England operators generally just radio the conditions to a dispatcher. Having live video might be nice but many jurisdictions would consider it a luxury they can't afford.

In any event, if cost is no object, this technology is certainly in the works. A little searching turned up THIS:

"To showcase the potential of streaming high-definition cameras, Axis Communications, a Swedish video technology firm, has built a sophisticated prototype police cruiser outfitted with the latest video equipment; the prototype cruiser is equipped with five high-definition video cameras which can allow officers at a command center or even in another police cruiser to monitor events via a live feed over a 4G wireless Internet connection; in the cruiser’s trunk is a network video recorder which functions as both a server to stream video to a cloud network as well as a central repository for the video feeds."

Edit: Since the article I linked is from 2011 this prototype may now be available in the marketplace.

 

[marauder]

Thanks yet again. Live video would certainly be expensive, which is why I'm looking for stills at time intervals.

This one also may fit the bill: http://www.smartwitness.com/usa/3G-Dash-Cameras/KP1.html

I think I have enough to go on now!

 

[Dashmellow]

I believe cameras of that nature can be set for low frame rates of capture, but that's just a guess. As a prototype, who knows what it's specs are.

The camera you linked to is very interesting. It is the first I've heard of a dash cam that accepts a SIM card. I do wonder about bandwidth considerations and would love to see some examples of the camera in action. So far, briefly perusing the web site, the camera appears to send 10 second MP4 720p video clips, not stills but for your purposes that may be all you need. Of course, it depend too on one's location. I live in rural mountainous/hilly region with lots of valleys and so 3G/4G service is spotty and problematic even for regular phone calls. Eventually, they will add more towers but there are many dead zones.

In any event, good luck with your endeavors. Perhaps report back with your results if you implement this.