Secure360 is a dashcam with a 360 degree view.
Secure360 is a hemispherical 360 camera designed to monitor your car continuously for up to 15 days. It can be used not only as a dashcam but also as a 360-degree security camera for your car. Here is a video explaining the concept:
Here are the specifications:
– field of view: hemispherical
– aperture: f/2.0
– sensor: 1/2.9-inch BSI CMOS Sony sensor
– sensors: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer, radar
– GPS
– connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, 4G (on select models)
– storage: can use Micro SD up to 256GB
The specs are vague about the resolution, saying “4 mega.” However, this framegrab from their sample gives an idea:
The camera is being offered on Kickstarter either with Wi-Fi only or with Wi-Fi + 4G. The delivery for Wi-Fi is supposedly in November 2017, while for the 4G version, it is March 2018. Note: the 4G will also have a service fee, estimated to be $14.95 per month. These prices are around $100 less than the retail price when it is eventually released. The project already reached their campaign goal and is going to be funded but please note that as with any crowdfunded project, it can be delayed or in the worst case scenario, you might get nothing at all, and you won’t have a remedy.
Thank you very much to Jim Jensen (Google+ Photo Sphere community) for bringing this to my attention!
From these samples, the video quality seems absolutely horrible. All is washed-out white, no detail and all highlights totally blown. I find it amazing these companies put so much tech into their products and then stick the worse sensor in it they can find.. haha:)
And yes we can argue that this is still in beta stages and not representative of the final quality of the product. Sure. But it’s clear from the start that any sort of acceptable image quality is not their priority in any way.
Thanks Maria. Compared to a typical 360 camera, I would agree. But just to clarify, the secure360 is a security camera, so I think their design priorities were probably more about being able to record for long durations (at a low bitrate), as opposed to having high quality images. I guess there is a wide range of image quality among security videos, and as a consumer, I think it’s not bad for a security cam. I’ve seen worse. 🙂
Mic thanks for the follow-up. I totally agree with you. But you know what? Imaging devices such as used now in most mobile phones from sensor manufacturers like Sony could literally a couple bucks when purchased in high-volume. So for a specialty imagine product like this one, an extra cost of 2 or 3 or 5 or even 10 bucks more to have decent quality imagine coming out of it, would make no diference on their budget or profit margins. No reason to have a VGA looking image in this day in age. Just my 2 cents. For me personally, it turn me off immediately and all their marketing claims to see “in great detail all that’s around the car” fall flat because you will not be able to distinguish a parking sign or another car’s license plate unless the lighting conditions are extremely favorable and not too far away from the device itself. If any of this product’s developers read these threads, take notice and don’t wait for the v2 of the product:)
Thanks Maria. I don’t know about the exact cost of the sensor and camera but yes I think if they wanted to, they could have put in a higher image quality sensor. But one thing to note is that this can record for 15 days. I think that means that it has to record at extremely low bit rates, and maybe 10fps or possibly even less. If they use a high quality sensor, recording time may only be one or two hours, plus the risk of overheating, making it less viable for security monitoring. Best regards, Mic
What about night vision?