Retailers may note that more DIY wireless camera solutions for the car are hitting the market, and they are becoming increasingly high tech. The latest was announced this week–an Apple-like backup camera system, launched by engineers that worked on the iPod and iPhone.
The Pearl RearVision is a WiFi/Bluetooth backup camera system that includes two 180 degree fish eye cameras, with HD quality, mounted on a license plate frame. The frame is solar powered and the system plugs into the OBD 2 port.
The system applies software programming to flatten the image that is then sent to your phone (iPhone or Android). You can “tap to pan” to see what’s behind the car.
Through the OBD 2 dongle, the system sounds an alert if something is behind the car.
The RearVision was developed by Pearl Automation, whose CEO and Founder is Bryson Gardner, who helped develop the iPod and several iPhones. Of Pearl’s 70 employees, 50 hail from Apple, according to Wired magazine.
RearVision launches automatically on Android when the car is turned on, said a spokeswoman. But due to Apple’s restrictions, you have to launch the app on an iPhone. The video feed turns off automatically when you reach 10 mph.
A phone mount is included in the price, which is a hefty $500. The product is due for release in September at pearlauto.com.
Pearl has even bigger plans. It is using some of its $50 million in financing to develop products for the autonomous car, focusing on the cars that are already on the road.
Bloomberg wrote, “The car that Apple is developing might seek to win a slice of the 17 million new vehicles sold annually in the U.S. Pearl wants to persuade the owners of the other 243 million cars on American roads to buy its products.”
A video of the RearVision may be seen on Businesswire.
Separately, last month Fen Sens launched a wireless parking camera system on a license plate frame (see also CNET story here).
Source: Pearl Automotive via Wired
