Build Your Own Streaming Dash Cam - Do It Yourself

We have always been passionate about home automation and everything related to computers in the home. Most of us love the weather stations that display a lot of information, high-tech clocks that make a calendar and that sounds when you receive a mail, digital photo frames, etc ... Indeed, we find that what exists today is either far too limited or very limited and far too expensive.

Build a Dash Cam with a Raspberry Pi, Two Cameras and GPS

Car video cameras (dash cams) became very popular, where vehicular crash videos outpaced witness testimony in court. Surveillance cameras in cars have become ubiquitous among the driver's daily tools. Increased distractions and shorter care intervals have subsequently led to dangerous traffic. The use of a camera like this means irrefutable proof of guilt in case of being involved in an accident.

We have seen a raspberry Pi used as a dash camera before, but about in Pro techie's they took the same concept, but also have a live-streaming capability provided you can set a hot spot on your smartphone.

Dash cameras are an easy way to record everything you see on your windshield, but they vary …

The dash cameras are a cool, easy way to record everything you see on your windshield, but they vary greatly in price and quality. If you really want to personalize your own, you can make one with a raspberry Pi.

As expected, this configuration has some bells and whistles. It has two cameras, one front and one rear. It also has GPS packaged in it so the camera always knows where it is recording. There is also a button to turn it off and restart it when you need it along with status LED so you know what to do. Of course, most of us probably do not need all this, but it's a fun project, though.

To begin with, you can make use of an old USB camera.
You can combine it with your old USB version and possibly add a GPS.

Hardware - Raspberry Pi model B
OS - Arch Linux
Front camera - Pi camera
Rear USB camera – Any kind of old one
GPS - Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout
LEDs - 3 x 3mm
Pi camera mount - From pimoroni
SD card adaptor - pIO microSD card adapter
SD card - Samsung 32Gb micro SD PRO Card Class 10 UHS-I

The camera uses Node.js to set everything up, then takes a picture every few seconds and saves it online using the hot spot on your smartphone. In this way, the flow is available online at any time. To do this, you will need a Raspberry Pi and a camera module next to some form of network access. Beyond that, it is a fairly simple configuration process for the camera itself. When you're done with that, you'll make a viewer so you can see all those images in streaming. This project uses the PubNub application platform, but you can do this project using a free account.

How about Live Streaming

Traditionally, the only way to view live video was on TV, and the Internet was able to handle text, image and audio content. However, when Internet speeds began to increase after the year 2000 or so, it became possible to download audio and video files directly to a computer before playing them - bitrates also improved over this period of time to offer this content in excellent definition and detail. The natural evolution of this process came with the introduction of broadband and fibre optic data services, and access speeds became fast enough to stream content in real-time without having to wait for a file to finish downloading.

This improved technology has now enabled broadcasters to provide live audio and video, and it is adaptable to various broadband speeds. In any developed nation, there will always be large fluctuations in connection speeds, but everyone can have the chance to access the same live content with variable quality settings. When a user starts to watch a live broadcast, an initial speed test is carried out in the background, and an image and audio bitrate is delivered to the user that streams as smoothly as possible. In the event that the feed begins to break up or buffer, the content will automatically step-down in quality. This technology to enhance the user experience is already in place for the major Video on Demand providers, and smaller operations can now use it to deliver programmes to their own fans as well.

Live streaming has also been developed to allow viewers flexibility over what they are watching - if the broadcaster decides to offer some extra features. It is possible to incorporate technology that pauses and rewinds live content, along with a facility to simply return to the live action with the click on a button. This is a great feature for live sporting events, as it gives the viewer their own 'Instant Replay' facility, and it is equally useful when the phone rings! Users can also be allowed to scroll through a live broadcast that is already in progress, which is useful if they need to catch up quickly.

This form of online broadcasting has to potential to be used by a wide variety of businesses, organisations and individuals, and it allows the public to engage in a way that only used to be possible with expensive investment in TV equipment. Bands and artists use it to provide intimate access to concerts and rehearsal sessions, while a business may decide to broadcast keynote speeches and press conferences. The Internet makes it possible for live streams to be accessed anywhere in the world - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Content can be made entirely public, or access can be offered to selected users if that is more desirable using the same technology that protects conventional web pages. With HD technology becoming commonplace in this area, it has already caught up with regular broadcast television in a number of respects, and it is only a matter of time before it becomes the medium of choice for many.
Martin Jonson is director of the UK's Digital Downloading company providing exceptional quality at the lowest UK prices. He will complete your job quickly with the greatest care. You can connect with him on Google+.