Dozens of Former Apple Employees Team Up to Launch ‘RearVision' Vehicle Camera

[iansumuk]

Hmmm, the Chinese used to copy things. Now the American's have taken to copying what's already on the market in China? "Made in China" is fast becoming "Designed in China". I've seen these in China working with Android and iPhone. I have a quick look on Alibaba and found one similar. http://www.alibaba.com/product-deta..._1677933114.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.SO5l7l

$500 is stupid money. To have that sort of money to throw away on this gadget, I'd say it's not worth it. I have an Audi A5, I didn't get the optional reversing camera but I suspect it wouldn't cost that to retro fit it, plus it would integrate better with the car. I suspect all the intelligence is already in my car, I just lack the actual camera. Newer cars are loaded with features, since cars are fast becoming too similar, companies try and buy us with more toys, they may sell a couple but it's not something I'd invest in, so I'm out.
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That's great, but won't car companies start building this in their cars eventually? Just like those Tom-Tom sat navs?

It's the wrong shape for your Dutch plates anyway!

 

[davemchine]

although it is much more extensive to install, you can get a clean Pioneer touchscreen and backup camera for less than 300 dollars. Some research and about 4 hours of your time, and you can install this yourself. In this case, you gain a touchscreen head unit, HD radio, Bluetooth phone system and an auto-on backup camera.

Which Pioneer are you referring to? I thought they were about $600. I'm in the maker for one.

 

[CFreymarc]

I dont want computers in my car.
The beauty of the automobile is purely mechanical.

Then don't buy any car manufactured after 1980.

Cars have slowly evolved into a computing platform that is about to open up to third party integration just like mainframes did decades ago. Almost all modern automotive designs, more engineering time is spend on automotive software than the rest of the car engineering team combined.

Then there are those that complained about automatic transmissions when they were first released.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

Then don't buy any car manufactured after 1980.

Cars have slowly evolved into a computing platform that is about to open up to third party integration just like mainframes did decades ago. Almost all modern automotive designs, more engineering time is spend on automotive software than the rest of the car engineering team combined.

Then there are those that complained about automatic transmissions when they were first released.

basically. there is a small little computer in cars. Has been for a while. IIRC they are called obd (at version 2 now iirc a well). Big fat wiring harness plugs into it. And it controls/monitors many things about the car. Have EFI (common for decades)...this ties into that. air flow metering and such for emissions and such...runs through here in some way.



usually located passenger side. Small metal grey box usually. One if you want the most from your car....there are 3rd party options to replace it. Removes those pesky limitations put in by car makers. Can make passing emissions testing "fun" for car inspections as well lol.

 

[usarioclave]

Hmmm, the Chinese used to copy things. Now the American's have taken to copying what's already on the market in China? "Made in China" is fast becoming "Designed in China".

I've seen these. To use them, you have to do two things:

1. wire it into your reverse taillight,
2. connect to whatever the SSID that it broadcasts with your device

Sadly, this is too much work for their target market. Just like you can build your own hackintosh, you can install your own backup camera if you'd like. Oh, and PCs are cheaper and more customizable and Android is more open.

 

[kdarling]

basically. there is a small little computer in cars. Has been for a while.

Googling around...

A modern vehicle could have as many as 50 microprocessors in it, for everything from the engine to transmission to ABS, from the gauges to entertainment systems to intelligent HVAC, to lighting and suspension, to you name it.

Even a basic car might have 30.

 

[Burger Thing]

Clumsy and impractical- and on top of that absurdly overpriced.

For 500 bucks you could send a Phantom 3 camera drone out the window to hover over your car

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Then don't buy any car manufactured after 1980.

I won't. The day anyone designs a car as well as even the ugliest car to come out of the 1960s, I might have thought about it, but knowing a thing or two about why they can't, I'm pretty comfortable with driving classic cars.

 

[diipii]

A group of three former Apple engineers, along with around 50 various designers and workers also formerly employed by Apple, have created a new startup in the vehicle accessory market, called Pearl, and today announced pre-orders on their product "RearVision." The $500 device is an attachable license plate accessory that connects via Bluetooth to an iOS or Android smartphone, displaying a 180-degree rear-view field of vision when backing up your car (via The Verge).

The RearVision unit comes with a dongle that connects with a vehicle's on-board diagnostic port to help communicate and determine the car's speed, and battery power isn't a concern since the device charges using an integrated solar panel. Bryan Gardner, one of the co-founders of the company, said that one full day of sun equates to an entire week of charge for the device, and the RearVision can store one month of battery in its reserves.

Otherwise, the device functions like many integrated rear-view cameras: when backing up, the device's dual-camera system automatically sends video to the connected smartphone in optional portrait view (with two levels of zoom) or landscape view. Two alternate alerts emit from the smartphone when the RearVision camera wants the user to slow down for a passerby or another car, and a more insistent sound when a collision might be imminent and the driver should stop the car completely.

Once the car is in forward motion above 10 mph, RearVision shuts off the rear-view camera and moves into a "Home Screen" section of the app. Here, users can choose their favorite and most used driving apps -- Google Maps, Apple Maps, Spotify, Apple Music, etc -- and place them in the Home Screen of RearVision's app, which is generally a launching shortcut to quickly access the designated apps while on the move.

Gardner hopes that the company's angle to support an install base of users (who have older cars without pre-installed rear-view cameras) will help promote safety in the automotive industry. The National Highway Safety Administration recently put into motion a ruling that will make all new cars launching in 2018 and beyond come with such technology ready for the user, but that still leaves a large swath of used and pre-owned vehicles without the ease-of-mind rear-view cameras can provide.

Those interested can pre-order the RearVision today for $499.99, with Pearl promising its knowledge of the Apple supply chain will help greatly in eliminating "any of the manufacturing pitfalls that have become common among small hardware startups." The company also says that set-up is simple and doesn't require anything besides a screwdriver and your smartphone. As of writing, the predicted shipping date for Pearl's RearVision camera is sometime in September.

Article Link: Dozens of Former Apple Employees Team Up to Launch 'RearVision' Vehicle Camera

This number of still active former employees makes a job at Apple look very uncertain.
Flavour of the week then down the road.

 

[AsherN]

How is the phone mounted to the center console in that picture? Some kind of tray stuck into the CD slot? I'd like something like that for my older car...

I have one of those. Works great.
https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Magneti...610&sr=1-6&keywords=phone+magnet+car+mount+cd
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Camera can't be inside the car by the rear window?

That defeats the purpose of seeing what is between the road surface and the bottom of the window. That's why those cameras are beinf mandated. There is a huge blindspot there when you are reversing.

 

[kdarling]

How is the phone mounted to the center console in that picture? Some kind of tray stuck into the CD slot? I'd like something like that for my older car...

Yeah, they make a gizmo that fits into the CD slot and then you tighten it.

I bought one with a mounting ball for my wife's Garmin GPS in her Jeep Liberty. The window suction cup kept falling down, and there's no place else to put a removable mount. But the CD slot mount works great (altho it blocks the view of the radio clock while the Garmin is mounted).

 

[dewski]

Which Pioneer are you referring to? I thought they were about $600. I'm in the maker for one.

pioneer avh-280bt or the avh-x2800bs

if you use your phone for everything, the 280 bt is fine. its $200, the latter is $300

 

[rjtiedeman]

Good Idea but a bad pricing. Team should have invested in market testing before going to market at $500. Also there are several other backup camera options that work well for half the price that don't require using your iphone.