I invented Rideye: The Black Box Camera For Cyclists. Ask me anything!

[cedricbosch]

Hey guys! I’ve spent the last year developing a product which I have recently launched as a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rideye/rideye-the-black-box-camera-for-your-bike

“Rideye is a black box camera for cyclists. Inspired by the black box in an airplane, it continuously records HD video in a never-ending loop, protecting you from hit-and-runs and false claims. Rideye has crash detection sensors which will detect an accident and protect critical files for future review. It’s incredibly easy to use- just one press of the button turns it on or off. Rideye’s battery lasts 24 hours, easily enough for a full month of commuting.”

The project has been a huge success so far, and with the quantities we are projected to hit, I will be able to add some features requested by the cycling community. I am going on various cycling forums to get an idea of what people want to change about Rideye.

I’d appreciate any and all suggestions or comments! Thank you very much for your time.

Cedric

[dasgeh]

Seems very cool. My biggest question is what about what happens behind? Any thoughts on something dual sided (probably for a helmet)?

And yes, this is more of an academic question…

[Two Wheels]

expand your marketing to include motorcycles. Many of the same problems solved with exactly the same device. Will need different mount, look at how Go Pro cameras do it (tank, fairing, etc.).

[KS1G]

Cedric: I saw something about your camera (think it was another thread here on video cameras). I’ve taken a look at the kickstarter page and I’m thinking about getting one.

I’ve used a Contour (HD?) off and on with pretty much a similar idea. Based on my experience with it, some questions:
Commuters are or will soon be riding much of their commutes at dusk or in dark. How well does the Rideye work in low light conditions? (Contour was disappointing).
Field of view vs. resoultion & frame rate are challenges. Higher is better but more $. The one time I was glad I had the Contour on and running (buzzed by someone going through an intersection who was not noticing the lanes were all shifting slightly left, or didn’t care I was already using the right one!) it was difficult-impossible to resolve the license plate, even trying frame by frame and zooming in. Since this is part of Rideye’s prime use case, how well does it work?
Audio pickup – my Contour was mounted under the handlebars. It picked up a lot of bike noise, some road noise, and not much else.

Orientation – the Contour was really good at allowing sideways and upside down mounting. Is the rideye as flexible? The Contour’s pointing light was a handy feature for alignment in absence of a screen (and if I wanted a screen, I’d have purchased a GoPro)

Mount idea (and maybe someone has done this). A Barfly-type mount (Garmin Edge 500 in my case) with a camera mount underneath? (I saw something on a post from Interbike showing a barfly or similar mount with an integrated handlebar-diameter tube for lights, so someone may have solved it already.

Thanks!

[Author]

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