Fujitsu Ten’s new onboard camera

Made famous by television shows featuring footage caught on squad car’s onboard video camera, personal vehicle cameras may become a common feature in many cars. Fujitsu Ten is set to release its DREC1000 drive recorder that's aimed at the general public. The original version was developed for use as security feature in taxis but the latest camera is aimed for general use and comes with an audio recorder as well as a special capacitor that allows it to function for up to 10 seconds after the battery dies. It's activated if sudden braking/acceleration is detected and a 20 second video clip is recorded onto a 128MB CF card.

The camera mounts to the car’s windshield and has a maximum viewing angle of 143 degrees. Video clips are stored on a removable memory card that can hold up to 15 different clips. These can be transferred to a PC for further viewing, but we suspect many insurance agencies would love to get their hands on the files in the hope that it may dispute a claim. Read more about the camera over at the Tech On website.