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SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher/Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc Bao Smith, B.Sc Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc Technical Contributor Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD Art Director & Production Manager Ross Tester Reader Services Ann Morris Founding Editor (retired) Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Dave Thompson David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Ian Batty M.Ed. Cartoonist Brendan Akhurst Silicon Chip is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20 880 526 923. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Subscription rates: $105.00 per year, post paid, in Australia. For overseas rates, see our website or email silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Editorial office: Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9939 3295. E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended & maximum price only. Printing and Distribution: Editorial Viewpoint New motor vehicles should have built-in dashcams After being at the receiving end of several unprovoked “road rage” incidents, I decided to fit front and rear dashcams to all my family’s vehicles. The strange part about this is that all these vehicles have reversing cameras, and some even have 360° cameras to help with parking, yet there is no obvious way to record the images from those cameras. Admittedly, those cameras are designed more for showing images of what’s immediately surrounding the vehicle rather than traffic at large, but they could easily be ‘paired up’ with wideangle cameras like those used in dashcams, and wired back to a central recording unit. This could be in the centre console or glovebox, and have an SD card slot for recording video from those cameras while the ignition is on. And many vehicles already have GPS navigation, so they could easily log your position and speed to that card as well. Even for vehicles that don’t have navigation, a GPS module would hardly cost sheep stations to add. The cameras are quite cheap to manufacture. A decent HD dashcam with GPS and all the required electronics, including video encoding, costs around $100 in a retail shop. OEMs would be paying a fraction of that. Once you take into account the installation labour, wiring and so on, I would estimate that adding front and rear cameras and the necessary recording hardware would add less than $200 to the cost of a vehicle. Even on the cheapest new cars, that isn’t a huge increase, and I for one would gladly pay for the convenience. It would be a great selling point for manufacturers who start doing this across their range. After all, who wants cameras stuck to their windscreen with wires running to the nearest accessory power point? And if the cameras are integrated into the vehicle, they would have an even clearer view of what’s going on around you. I am aware that Tesla vehicles already do this. While their cameras seem to have been originally intended to enable semi-autonomous driving, they also record video (apparently, whether you want them to or not!). And they have even recently added a “Sentry mode” to record would-be thieves and vandals. But Tesla is a niche brand. They sold around 1000 vehicles in Australia last year, out of a total of 1,153,000 – ie, about 0.1%. Citroën also offer a built-in dashcam in their C3 model, released in March 2018, although this is a $600 optional extra. Citroën are also a very minor player in the Australian car industry. It’s about time that mainstream manufacturers start offering similar features. It’s a sad fact that these days, you need to record what’s going on around you to protect yourself while driving. There are just too many incompetent and aggressive drivers around to ignore any more. So when somebody busy updating their Twitter, watching YouTube or doing their best ‘Stig’ impression damages your car, you’ll be able to show that it wasn’t your fault. I have to wonder, with all the technology going into vehicles these days like radar cruise control, autonomous braking, lane keeping, semi-autonomous driving, tyre pressure monitoring, phone integration, infotainment and so on, why such a feature has not already become widely available. Nicholas Vinen Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148. 2 Silicon Chip Australia’s electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au