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

cedricbosch

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

www.kickstarter.com/projects/rideye/rid ... -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

trooperk

Need to be in a more attractive case, looks like a 50p project box from maplins at the moment, maybe a option of a lower res rear facing camera too as some accidents starts with bad driving from behind.

rolf_f

trooperk wrote:

Need to be in a more attractive case, looks like a 50p project box from maplins at the moment, maybe a option of a lower res rear facing camera too as some accidents starts with bad driving from behind.

He has that covered by a separate unit - which is probably the best way to do it for visibility purposes.

I think it would be useful to have a GPS record. Normal GPS units don't record frequently enough to really show exact speeds at point of impact in detail so something that did have a much higher recording frequency would be a nice feature.

It probably needs to shrink a lot to become popular away from the more obvious death trap cities.....

hangeron

what do the police say about it...in the UK they seem very reluctant to accept video evidence from cyclists.

hangeron

what do the police say about it...in the UK they seem very reluctant to accept video evidence from cyclists.

hangeron

what do the police say about it...in the UK they seem very reluctant to accept video evidence from cyclists.

CiB

I wonder what do the police say about it....

shortcuts

Scratching my head here wondering what the police would say about it.

Colinthecop

There seems to be a reluctance...... Oh never mind.

rolf_f

And I'm not sure about the name - Rideye. Surely all you need is a hammer and a nail........

gbsahne001

the button turns it on or off. Rideye’s battery lasts 24 hours, easily enough for a full month of commuting.

Would only just get 10 days out of it

cornerblock

CiB wrote:

I wonder what do the police say about it....

Hello hello hello probably.

gbsahne001

the button turns it on or off. Rideye’s battery lasts 24 hours, easily enough for a full month of commuting.

Would only just get 10 days out of it

ketsbaia

Cornerblock wrote:

CiB wrote:

I wonder what do the police say about it....

Hello hello hello probably.

Very good.

rjsterry

Has any actual crash testing been done to see how robust the unit is? Obviously it needs to be able to survive a few knocks.

My other thought is that that is quite a big box to perch on the bars - would a smaller camera unit on the bars, cabled to a remote battery/storage unit mounted elsewhere on the frame be an option? Not as compact then I guess, and a risk of cables being yanked out.

kennygalbraith

I like the concept but hate the box, for me it needs to be ayrodynamic, can't the electronics be stored in front of the battery pack? Secondly I want something that can record at least front and back with audio if possible for me that would be well worth the investment. My Ideal world would be a helmet front/rear camera system, GPS nice but not essential as I have gps on garmin other have it on phone.

Kieran_Burns

am I the only one calling this rid-eye, not (presumably) ride-eye as the OP intended?

Plus I'm not entirely sure a bike mounted camera is a described as a "ground breaking product for cyclists" although I have to dismiss their entire article when I read: "But every time we strap on our helmets, we accept that cycling is a dangerous activity"

You can't upgrade the memory, the design is just horrible (sorry) and the ideas been around for ages....

CiB

Kieran_Burns wrote:

am I the only one calling this rid-eye, not (presumably) ride-eye as the OP intended?

Nope.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I have to dismiss their entire article when I read: "But every time we strap on our helmets, we accept that cycling is a dangerous activity"

That's why I leave mine in the garage, or under the stairs, or in the hedge down the road in the early days to get out with being tutted at. IME it isn't, never has been.

Anyway.

asprilla

Needs a battery fuel tank display. It's no good having these things if they are going to run out of charge halfway though your ride. You need a visual indication of the charge status like Exposure Lights use; four blue leds and one red.

cedricbosch

Thanks for the feedback guys! I went with this minimalist design because, as an engineer, I prioritized functionality over good looks. That said, the project is projected to hit quantities many times higher than what I had predicted, so I'm actively looking for some professional product design consultants to help me revise the aesthetics.

Thanks for the suggestion, Asprilla. Currently, Rideye flashes its battery state every time you turn it on. I'll look into adding a secondary LED dedicated to displaying battery capacity.

asprilla

cedricbosch wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion, Asprilla. Currently, Rideye flashes its battery state every time you turn it on. I'll look into adding a secondary LED dedicated to displaying battery capacity.

Battery status is fine, but it only provides you with information as you are about yo use it. You really need battery charge data at the end of your ride so that you know whether to plug it in at that point or not. Knowing when it gets to 25% would be the minimum I would want, but ideally 20% or 25% increments would be better. See the five red lights:

walkingbootweather

Cornerblock wrote:

CiB wrote:

I wonder what do the police say about it....

Hello hello hello probably.

Or, Don't stand so close to me. :roll:

Have you though about a lower cost version designed only to capture minor accidents or mistakes? You could call it Cycle-oops.....

cedricbosch

walkingbootweather wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

CiB wrote:

I wonder what do the police say about it....

Hello hello hello probably.

Or, Don't stand so close to me. :roll:

Have you though about a lower cost version designed only to capture minor accidents or mistakes? You could call it Cycle-oops.....

We'll have to consider that name for V2

edds

While the footage of central LA looks nice. I really hope it also works on dark outer London roads in the rain. I used to use a Contour and it could only just handle that... badly.

moarspeed

The problem with expensive products that do lots of different things, is that if/when something goes faulty, the entire unit is scrap.