Victor Marks
Dride is an Israeli startup set up with the intent to make iPhone-compatible dashcams easy to install and to use with the ultimate goal of making people drive safer, and AppleInsider paid them a visit.
We've all seen videos of near-death experiences from Russian dash cams, where someone miraculously survives an encounter with a runaway truck, but it's rare to see the videos of the guy that cuts you off, because existing dash cams make it too difficult to get the video out and share it. Dride wants to change all that.
Dride actually makes a few things. DrideOS is a Linux distribution that runs on Dride Zero dash cams. Secondly, there's the Dride app, which runs on iOS and Android and works with the company's Wi-Fi dash cam.
Finally, there's the Dride cloud, where the dashcam videos are hosted. With Dride hosting the video themselves, it's easier to share the link to it rather than sharing 300MB of video to someone.
Dash cams are bulky and take up a lot of space on the dash. Dride's version is much thinner and can mount in front of the rear-view mirror. It's equipped with a status LED, a button for triggering videos to be saved, an accelerometer, and the camera, all in a flat and attractive package that stays out of the way, as compared to extant bulky camera setups.
So, with the technology problem licked, how does Dride make people drive more safely? We spoke to founder Yossi Neiman, who told us that one possibility is that a Dride user could upload the video of someone cutting them off anonymously to the police, who could then issue a ticket to the misbehaving driver caught on video — a feature that is currently being tested in Dride's native Israel.
The Dride package is also very maker-friendly. Besides just buying the finished product and slapping it on your dash, it's also possible to bring your own Raspberry Pi Zero, and get their HAT (hardware attached on top) and the 3D printed case, and assemble it yourself.
While visiting Dride, we went for a drive with Neiman and saw how diminutive the camera is. It was easy to pair our iPhone 6 with the camera by joining it's Wi-Fi network. The video streamed to the camera app immediately, and we could scroll the history of video stored on the camera, and send it using the iOS share sheet to Messages, WhatsApp, Facebook and other messaging apps, just as you'd expect.
If all that sounds a little anti-climactic, that's the sort of thing that's desirable: Dride wants it to just work. Extending the ease of setup, and the surveilled angles of the car, Neiman also mentioned that it will be possible to place a camera in the rear window and they'll both sync with the Dride app.
If you're interested in checking out the dash cam, cloud, and app, go to Dride's Web site to learn more. Dride Zero's pre-order pricing is set at $69.
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22 Comments
Nobody brought a ruler or a common item like an Apple product to provide scale to the repeated claims of incredible smallness?
I hope the ease of sharing doesn’t encourage foolish driving rather than safe driving. In any case, I find a dash cam to be a very worthwhile accessory. If you’ve ever been pulled over for something you don’t think you’ve done, it’s your word against the officer’s. Unless you have some evidence to support your claim, you probably lose. In many cases, one might be SURE they didn’t speed or did stop at the stop
sign etc. if you can see you were in the wrong, that’s good too.
In in one instance I was in a major collision when another driver lost control of her car. They brought up the possibility of some other driver hitting her and taking off etc. (not supported by any facts and dismissed anyway) but would have been helpful to have video. Since then, always driving with dash cams. I’ve had a few types, now an expensive Garmin GPS with dashcam. Getting video off is a sticking point that this unit seems to address. The price is very attractive. I’d like to see video quality.
Bottom line though, whether you get this or some other, get thee a dashcam.
Not diminutive in my opinion. Still looks like an eye sore but smaller than the other cams. If it was totally hidden behind the rear view mirror I would say it is diminutive.
Keep in mind that in a lot of states in the U.S., it is illegal to attach anything to your windshield beyond the factory equipment and any state-mandated stickers (inspection, registration, and so on).
https://blog.proclipusa.com/are-suction-cup-windshield-mounts-legal-in-your-state/