Before I formally introduce 6 Hikvision 1600P Dashcams, Please check out demo videos below

[RickyC]

I would personally rather see the data processing power used by ADAS go to improving dashcam imaging and functions such as parking protection which are not available in cars as-built. Many cars now come with ADAS which is done better than any dashcam can ever hope to do. Yet I also see that some (many?) dashcam buyers want ADAS features, so as far as marketing it may be worthwhile- especially if done well.

I've tried the ADAS functions in a couple of dashcans and have found them to be so unreliable as to be useless. There is especially a problem with speed limit sign recognition as those signs are not standardized world-wide which generally means that even if it works good in Europe, it likely won't in the US. If you're going to have ADAS functions then prepare to spend whatever effort is necessary to fine-tune them into something that works well; otherwise you'll get 'disliked' reviews from people who just don't understand the limitations of dashcams.

Phil

you are so right. I currently only use " keep up with the car " function. It is challenging to recognize some many speed limit signs. I agree with you that I would like to see better imaging and better parking protection.
Ricky

 

[RickyC]

I'm not particularly at all interested in ADAS. I primarily want reliability and the best possible video and audio quality, nothing more. But like I said above, if Hikvision can come with something practical, useful and reliable that can provide real benefits to dash cam users it could make for an interesting development. Looking out ahead several years as AI functionalities begin to make their way into consumer level microchips we may have some interesting developments to look forward to that will go far beyond the lame and annoying dash cam ADAS features we are currently familiar with.

AI has been getting very popular in regular CCTV systems in recent 2 years.
Human detection is very accurate now even in $150 level cameras, which was not able to imagine 3 years ago.
We no longer care too much about resolution any more when we design a system for customers.

I believe the same thing will be happening in Dashcam industry once we understand what are your top priorities.

Ricky

 

[DrekiTech]

I'm not particularly at all interested in ADAS. I primarily want reliability and the best possible video and audio quality, nothing more. But like I said above, if Hikvision can come with something practical, useful and reliable that can provide real benefits to dash cam users it could make for an interesting development. Looking out ahead several years as AI functionalities begin to make their way into consumer level microchips we may have some interesting developments to look forward to that will go far beyond the lame and annoying dash cam ADAS features we are currently familiar with.

I could see license plate recognition being very useful, especially as more people view on phones (which may not be easy to zoom in on video). Or especially in low light

Fixed speed camera alerts would be useful too but that would require tapping into a database, or recognition of the speed camera warning sign (but not every jurisdiction has this warning sign).

 

[DT MI]

JMO, but even those ADAS systems integrated with the vehicle work marginally well at best. I turn most of them off if they default to on. The ones that stay on are those that provide operational assistance - adaptive cruise control, auto high beams, emergency braking, etc. and then only after I determine with actual use that they work reliably. That's something that dash cam based ADAS cannot do.

For me ADAS in dash cams are just gimmicks, useful only to the marketing department of the manufacturer. I'd much rather see the resources committed to their development diverted to improving the basic functions of the camera and that's reliably recording quality video (and audio if desired).

 

[RickyC]

I could see license plate recognition being very useful, especially as more people view on phones (which may not be easy to zoom in on video). Or especially in low light

Fixed speed camera alerts would be useful too but that would require tapping into a database, or recognition of the speed camera warning sign (but not every jurisdiction has this warning sign).

Got it. In fact I discussed this need days ago with a R&D member ( we called it LPC _ License Plate Capture instead of LPR -License Plate Recognition ).
LPR means the camera will be able to capture first and then convert it to the text and export; we don't need it here. We just need LPC to provide sharp/clear LP images.

what I need them to do is to find out license plates in the images and adjust exposures on those plates individually for best image quality.

Ricky

 

[DT MI]

we called it LPC _ License Plate Capture.......find out license plates in the images and adjust exposures on those plates individually for best image quality.

That's a function I would categorize as 'quality video' versus ADAS - also highly desirable for many people.

 

[RickyC]

JMO, but even those ADAS systems integrated with the vehicle work marginally well at best. I turn most of them off if they default to on. The ones that stay on are those that provide operational assistance - adaptive cruise control, auto high beams, emergency braking, etc. and then only after I determine with actual use that they work reliably. That's something that dash cam based ADAS cannot do.

For me ADAS in dash cams are just gimmicks, useful only to the marketing department of the manufacturer. I'd much rather see the resources committed to their development diverted to improving the basic functions of the camera and that's reliably recording quality video (and audio if desired).

If I looked back those smart features on security cameras for 5 years, I would like say it was exactly like what happening right now on dashcams.
You had some features but not fully working as you expected.

Give them a little more time, and tell them what you really need for those AI functions.
It will be changing to what you like.

Processing power of chipset is getting strong and strong every generation. That makes some AI features working better and better.

Ricky

 

[RickyC]

That's a function I would categorize as 'quality video' versus ADAS - also highly desirable for many people.

We have that demand in mind now.

Ricky

 

[Dashmellow]

I could see license plate recognition being very useful, especially as more people view on phones (which may not be easy to zoom in on video). Or especially in low light

I agree.

However, I think achieving accurate, reliable license plate recognition will come down to how much processing power (and speed) can be made available in a dash camera. My hunch is that it will require multi-core processors and far more memory than in today's cams and that will determine the price range for cameras that could actually do this.

 

[lacibaci]

Cars do ADAS much better. I would be interested in license plate recognition though.

 

[RickyC]

Cars do ADAS much better. I would be interested in license plate recognition though.

thanks for your feedback.
do you need LPR ( the camera reads and convert the plate numbers to text) or just a clear image with recognizable plate numbers?
Ricky

 

[lacibaci]

thanks for your feedback.
do you need LPR ( the camera reads and convert the plate numbers to text) or just a clear image with recognizable plate numbers?
Ricky

A clear (enhanced) image would be enough.

 

[Dashmellow]

thanks for your feedback.
do you need LPR ( the camera reads and convert the plate numbers to text) or just a clear image with recognizable plate numbers?
Ricky

LPR (optical character recognition) along with a clear image of the plate number would be cool. But since dash cams collect video evidence that might be used in court or for law enforcement and for insurance purposes it seems that a clear image of a plate would be the priority. In theory, in a legal matter someone might try to make a case that the LPR got it wrong, whereas an image of a license plate number makes for better proof.

 

[DrekiTech]

Now I am back from the New Years holiday and I have some good news. I took the camera out on our coldest day where my car said -15C. My windshield wiper fluid froze up (supposed to be -35!!!!) but the camera worked fine. It turned on right away and started recording right away with no warm up time needed.

Over the next week I'll test the windows program and grab some more footage samples for y'all. Happy New Years

 

[RickyC]

Now I am back from the New Years holiday and I have some good news. I took the camera out on our coldest day where my car said -15C. My windshield wiper fluid froze up (supposed to be -35!!!!) but the camera worked fine. It turned on right away and started recording right away with no warm up time needed.

Over the next week I'll test the windows program and grab some more footage samples for y'all. Happy New Years

Happy new year to you and all as well!

 

[kamkar]

Speed sign reading while passing.
My little sister have a Hyundai I30 and it can do this, and do so well in pitch darkness / only the little light the headlights throw off in other directions than just strait ahead, first time i noticed i was like "Duuuuude how do it do that"
CUZ i am pretty sure any dashcam in my car, those same signs would just be a massive blur, cuz the car seem to read the sign as it is off in a 45 deg angle and so pretty darn close to the car.

My dream dashcam feature are still ANPG, so i can get a warning when certain plates in a database in the camera are in front or behind me ( undercover police cars ),,,,, and even if i really do not use this any more as my driving are pretty relaxed VS what it was say in the 90ties when it was really - REALLY bad.

 

[RickyC]

Speed sign reading while passing.
My little sister have a Hyundai I30 and it can do this, and do so well in pitch darkness / only the little light the headlights throw off in other directions than just strait ahead, first time i noticed i was like "Duuuuude how do it do that"
CUZ i am pretty sure any dashcam in my car, those same signs would just be a massive blur, cuz the car seem to read the sign as it is off in a 45 deg angle and so pretty darn close to the car.

My dream dashcam feature are still ANPG, so i can get a warning when certain plates in a database in the camera are in front or behind me ( undercover police cars ),,,,, and even if i really do not use this any more as my driving are pretty relaxed VS what it was say in the 90ties when it was really - REALLY bad.

Hikvision Dashcams have that function to recognize the speed limit,
But I have to admit it does not work flawlessly currently.
it misses some signs, it reads other signs with numbers.
it works better on Highways

Hikvision G4 dashcam supports LPR or ANPR. I will see how well its recognition rate is and if it can give you live warning alerts.

Ricky

 

[kamkar]

A silly feature for a dashcam i think, but for the car itself not bad, even if you have learned in driving school to be vigilant to signs along the road.
My sisters I30 also alert, the hybrid Suzuki swift i got as a loaner while my rear windows was fixed, that only displayed the speed in the dashboard

But could be alarm in the Suzuki was just disabled, start/stop was disabled too.

With ANPR in a dashcam i am aware the car it is to recognize still have to be close enough for the plate to be read.
It is also a bit silly feature for a dashcam, but still one i have wanted for a long time, and i am a bit silly myself so should work fine for me then.

Also like these detectors, but expensive for that is essential a simple radio. https://www.blu-eye.eu/en/facts/

 

[DrekiTech]

I have another brand of dashcam in my car right now with speed sign recognition and today it told me "SPEED LIMIT 10!" .... on Highway 10. Speed limit is 90km/h not even 100, so it must have mistaken the highway number sign for the speed sign.

I imagine false positives are hard to avoid, although here in Canada at least, our speed signs say KM/h on it. Other countries don't have the unit designation.

 

[kamkar]

Thats probably due to your neighbors to the south the signs read KM/h

Speed signs here are round with white background and black numbers, framed with a red edge, funny thing though the signs do say KM but not /h

When road numbers are on signs though not roadside they are in a square box, like seen on overhead green info signs on motorways.
Like here going South on the North/South E45 motorway with the option to keep on E45 towards Kolding, or later change to E20 going West towards Esbjerg, or keep Left on E45 to merge/ change to E20 going East towards Odense and Fredericia and in the end the Danish capitol Copenhagen.
But you wont see a single roadside sign anywhere that say you are driving on road ##, you are supposed to know that when you entered the road.
But at exits / on ramps on motorways or on highways intersections there are usually road numbers on signs alongside town names, so you do get a hint now and then where you are.


Exit numbers on motorways, are on a sign on the roadside but the exit number are in a 6 sided box, and the exit number are red numbers, secondary road numbers you enter leaving the motorway in this example are in a box too, like here where you exit onto route 587, where you can turn right ( west towards Hadsten or Left ( East ) towards Løgten.



But say driving on the E45 motorway here, you will not find any signs along it saying you are on the E45