Are there any dashcam apps? If not would anyone be interested if I made one?

[RussianVodka]

I've been wanting to install a dashcam in my car for a long time so that if I ever get into an accident I have a video showing that it wasn't my fault (hopefully). I'd say that on an average commute, 20% of the people that share the road with me are weapons-grade ******ed, so a dashcam of some sort would be a good investment. Just the other day I was cut off by a girl who was holding a drink in one hand, talking on the cell phone with the other, and steering with her elbow...

So I was thinking of writing a dashcam application for my soon-to-be obtained Android phone.

The idea is that when you plug the phone into your car dock (same place you'd plug it in if you wanted to use GPS) the dashcam app would automatically load up and start filming at roughly 2 FPS. The film quality should allow you to easily make out what's going on, but be small enough that it doesn't take up a lot of space.

To conserve space the app should only "remember" the last hour or so of what it taped (which if you get into an accident should be more than good enough) and delete anything older.

That's just a general, not very thought, through idea of what I want to make. What are your thoughts on such an app, and does anyone know if there are already apps like this out in the market?

 

[mdeamicis]

i like it. while we are brainstorming, make it a web cam and have it stream to a desktop or server with more storage, i know, bandwidth hog, but it sounds cool.

 

[jeffdlb]

Yes, I would be interested in such an app. However, if you are using the phone as GPS and have it angled towards you to see the screen, wouldn't the camera only be filming the front-right quadrant of the car (assuming the steering wheel is on the left side)?

 

[jev]

Search for DailyRoads Voyager, it'll prolly do just what you want.

 

[RussianVodka]

Yes, I would be interested in such an app. However, if you are using the phone as GPS and have it angled towards you to see the screen, wouldn't the camera only be filming the front-right quadrant of the car (assuming the steering wheel is on the left side)?

Hm, didn't think of that.

 

[jev]

It depends where and how you mount the phone. I have it on the left lower corner of the windscreen en it's resting on the top of the dashboard. No problems with the view!

 

[mcatdtDROID]

I'm more interested in just a good mount that can be used and won't obstruct the video recorder while acting as a dash mount. I go offroading, and, in the past, mounted my Kodak sureshot camera on a dash mount that simply had a bolt that used the tri-pod mount hole. It was able to record an hour worth of trail time.

either way, my only issue now is I don't have a tri-pod mount hole on the Droid....


I'm going wheeling this weekend, and need to figure out some sort of mount where the camera is secure and unobstructed.

I am still new enough to droid..... what's the limit on video record time to SD card?

 

[deltaforce]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but wondering if OP has made any progress.

DailyRoads Voyager is a good app but it is as good as spying on you. I noticed that it sends an email to you of your trip once completed. At least, it used to, not sure if they changed it.