Skip to main content

Black Box” Technology Comes to Cars


A company that provides communications systems to law enforcement agencies around the world has developed a black box similar to those used in aircraft to record crash data in cars.

The Smart Black Box by KCI Communications sticks to your windshield and uses a built-in camera, GPS unit and G-force shock sensor to document accidents. The info could come in handy when trying to determine fault or explain to your insurance company just what happened when you crunched your car.

“It’s the cheapest, most reliable thing yet for recording the events leading up to and after an accident,” Chris Pflanz, the company’s director of sales, told Wired.com. “We’re currently just trying to get the word out about this product, but we would eventually like to see insurance companies offer users of it a discount on their monthly premiums.”

The Smart Black Box costs about $300 and constantly records video footage on a loop as you drive. Should the shock sensor detect an accident, the device saves the 15 seconds prior to impact and the 5 seconds afterward. The footage is saved to a SD Card, like that found in your digital camera, making it accessible on a home computer.

KCI says the GPS unit will record the time and location of an accident and document your speed and direction of travel. The company says that could be useful when trying to prove that red light you ran was actually yellow or in cases where you dispute the reading on a cop’s radar.

“It’s the perfect way to fight back,” said Pflanz. “The authorities always have surveillance cameras on you. Why not put a camera on them for a change?”

KCI Communications is of course not the first company to put a camera in your car. But it couples the camera with GPS documentation and a built-in G-shock sensor, which is capable of tracing the point of impact during an accident on a three line X, Y, Z graph. Unlike other car camera providers, Pflanz said KCI Communications also doesn’t charge a monthly fee or aggregate the recorded data through a main-frame server.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keyboard Keychain

Keyboard Keychain These days many of us need devices that will enable us to operate our smartphones and tablets wherever we want with equal dexterity and comfort, virtual keyboards maybe topping the list of useful gadgets . These days many of us need devices that will enable us to operate our smartphones and tablets wherever we want with equal dexterity and comfort, virtual keyboards maybe topping the list of useful gadgets .
2 comments
Read more

Starfish Shaped Cell Phone

True, we don’t seem to have had this one before: the new idea for the shape of a cell phone is a star fish. The Oriental have made a habit of choosing queer ones, and you may catch a surprised glance or two getting it out. By the way, it’s clearly defined as a “Lady’s Cell Phone”, so get ready to begin living in an aquarium. Fun aside, what you may want to get for $126 is the Star Shape Lady’s Cell Phone - an unlocked GSM phone with a 1.8″ touchscreen. You will find all the modern features present – Bluetooth, a built-in camera. You are offered a choice of a blue, green, gold or pink starfish with an included 2GB memory card. Since it’s generally dark at the bottom of the sea, the Starfish Cell Phone is decked with artificial diamonds that can exude light.
Post a Comment
Read more

Electronic Cigarette

Ever thought how good would it be if there was a way to reduce the harm of cigarettes without giving up the habit of smoking? Here is the answer, Myvic Electronic Cigarette is a revolutionary new product which is drastically healthier than traditional smoking. It will improve your health while giving the same sensations as ordinary cigarettes. There are more than 4000 chemicals found in the ordinary cigarettes, of which at least 400 are harmful for the human body. They contain, tar, carbon monoxide, benzene, acetone, formaldehyde, arsenic and many others. This chemicals contribute to lung cancer and many other diseases associated with cigarette smoking. While using Myvic Electronic Cigarette you have to change nicotine refills, which range from high concentrate nicotine to zero nicotine content. The refill contains nicotine and propylene glycol (harmless to human body). Nicotine is not believed to cause cancer, and compared to all the chemicals inhaled while smoking ordinary cigarett...
8 comments
Read more