Waylens - action camera for car racing

Modern DVRs already have in their arsenal many functions that significantly distinguish them from their predecessors, even five years ago. Chip modules, gyroscopes and accelerometers, memory, quality of lenses and sensors - the base of the elements is growing, characteristics are improving. A striking example of progress in this direction - onboard action-camera Waylens , the project of which is successfully completed on Kickstarter with the result of more than half a million dollars with the declared $ 55 thousand.


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Design

The compact camera is designed in the shape of a truncated cone. The entire frontal part consists of a lens, the reverse side is a Retina color information display. The internal structure is represented like this:



The body is made of anodized aluminum, waterproof. The camera operates on a battery or cigarette lighter, attached to the windshield in a convenient place:



The capabilities of the device are expanded by the additional on-board diagnostics function thanks to the supplied OBD-II sensor - it is connected to the car's connector:



Built-in GPS-module, accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer determine the position in space, are responsible for the automatic on-off of the camera, and so on - in general, like many modern recorders.

The design provides a slot for a microSD memory card of 128 GB, video recording only on external media.

Functional

The main feature of Waylens is synchronization with the connected OBD-II sensor via bluetooth with the subsequent display on the screen and recording of several key parameters: speed, revolutions, slope, barometric pressure and so on.



Very informative for the analysis of races it turns out, the picture resembles an ordinary simulator, only adjusted for the full reality of the trip.



A similar system for recording real-time motion parameters (PDR - Performance Data Recorder) is already used by GM in its top cars - it is equipped with the latest Corvette and Cadillac information system CTS-V. By the way, BMW is developing software integrated with GoPro video.

As for recording video. Here, the developers have connected three outstanding, according to them, elements:

• wide-angle lens (157 degrees, aperture f / 2.4)
• SONY CMOS sensor (size 1 / 1.8 ”, 2.4 µm x 2.4 µm pixels)
• Ambarella video processor (processing speed 318 million pixels / s, frequency 1 GHz)

Video shooting takes place in four modes.

• 1080 and 60 fps resolution
• 1080 and 30 fps resolution
• 720 and 120 fps resolution
• 720 and 60 fps resolution

Video quality is much better than GoPro. Comparative records can be found here . But the difference is already visible in the photo:



Screen Retina at Waylens created by thin-film technology OLED, 286 ppi resolution, viewing angle - 178 degrees. The screen displays both motion parameters and streaming video:



Equipment

Included with the camera, mount on the glass, the control unit on the steering wheel, charging and OBD-II sensor, battery.



Payment and delivery

Prior to the completion of the project, the Waylens camera can be ordered for $ 299 on the project page on Kickstarter. Delivery of serial samples is planned for July 2016. Delivery to Russia - plus $ 30.

Although we could not find the weight of the kit on the site anywhere, it is unlikely to exceed 1 kg. So we will give you an opportunity to save on transportation. Our delivery on the route USA - Moscow to the point of issue of orders is $ 14 per 1 kg. And for light packages up to 0.5 kg - $ 10 .