imagine an app that is sort of like a panic button. You get pulled over, you open the app and hit the button which then (depending on your preferences), starts recording/streaming video and audio, locks the phone, and maybe starts recording accelerometer/gps data, etc.
It would need to be thoroughly developed/tested before actually it could be ethically recommended.
What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? unfeasible? Already existing?
This is a bit of self promotion, but I built an entirely open-source dash-cam that excels in this scenario. Instead of recording to an SD card inside the camera, the camera is connected to a capture device installed somewhere else in the car.
It’s not perfect, but it’s very time consuming for a potential adversary to locate the video storage. It was designed like this primarily for car break-ins, but it would work well here as well.
That’s pretty cool! Any hardware info? I had thought a diy dashcam project would be most about hardware (rpi zero and 3d printed enclosure maybe) with the software being relatively simple. Using an old phone might be another approach.
I will say it’s quite a bit more expensive than a typical off-the-shelf consumer dash-cam, since you’re essentially just installing a full-blowm compurer. I use a Raspberry Pi 5 for the pre-made kits, which is able to record 30fps@720p across two channels (front/rear). It’ll work with just about any USB webcam. The tricky part for new users is that you typically have to create a 12V to 5V USB harness to power it from the car.
Cig lighter phone charger won’t supply the 5v? I’d have thought the camera mount and enclosure would take the most effort. Raspberry pi zero with their camera accessory would be the main camera.