360 Degree View Parking Assist

[Qacer]

Has anyone gotten an after market 360 degree view parking assist system installed in their car?

I just found this one recently:
http://www.poweramper.com/style/fra...tent_set=color_5&Directory_ID=66794&id=367914

I'm not sure how the system will work on the cars not listed on the page. It appears it has to be optimize for the specific car body.

Thanks!

 

[Tuanies]

I thought about it, but I hate fishing wire through the door so I'm perfectly happy with my backup camera.

 

[Kaido]

I've had my eye on doing a setup like this, haven't pulled the trigger yet. They have a bunch of great mobile DVR units on Alibaba, including 4, 6, and 8-channel models (search for things like "bus dvr"). Thinking big for camera locations for an all-out system:

1. Front windshield
2. Back windshield
3. Left side
4. Right side

5. Rear bumper
6. Front bumper
7. Driver's side rear bumper
8. Passenger's side rear bumper
9. Driver's side front bumper
10. Passenger's side front bumper

11. Driver's side mirror (blindspot)
12. Passenger's side mirror (blindspot)

Those cameras in useful combinations:

1. 360-degree crash-cam DVR:

This records all angles of your car for accident footage.

a. Front windshield
b. Rear windshield
c. Left side
d. Right side

2. Blindspot cameras:

This is for merging or changing lanes. Honda has it setup to activate the camera onscreen via your blinker.

a. Driver's side blindspot
b. Passenger's side blindspot

3. Backing out:

The problem is getting a full 180-degree view when backing out. I have a little car, so if I'm sandwiched between two giant SUV's, rear visibility is useless because I can't see what's coming on either side. By doing a split-view on the screen, you would get a half-circle of coverage, so as soon as you started to back out, you'd see exactly who was coming on either side of you. Just wire in the onscreen camera activation to a taillight, so it turns on automatically when you go in reverse.

a. Rear bumper
b. Driver's side rear bumper
c. Passenger's side ear bumper

4. Parking in tight spaces:

Landrover has a nice setup for this - it gives you an angled view of the street, including on the front bumpers, which makes parallel parking a breeze if the spot is tight or you're having trouble with depth perception.

a. Front bumper (how close you can get)
b. Passenger's side bumper (parking close to a curb)
c. Driver's side bumper (parking close to another vehicle or other obstacle)

Pricing really isn't bad at all, at least compared to the competition like BlackVue. A quad LCD is only $85: (setup a simple switch for backup mode, blindspot mode, parking mode, etc.)

http://www.amazon.com/TFT-LCD-Rearvi...dp/B00F36ZCGI/

Most cameras only run about $20, so even if you buy 12 of them, you're only out $240:

Swivel camera

Flush camera

Under mirror camera

There's a zillion options for mobile DVR's as well...record to shockproof SD cards, add GPS location, remote viewing via 3G, timelapse in parking mode, extended recording to 2TB 2.5" drives, etc. You could pair up a standalone 4-channel crash DVR for $180 and use an 8-channel mobile DVR for switching the viewing modes. Here's one for $370 on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-CH-Channe...-Recorder-DVR-Camera-System-GPS-/171293720973

That's going to the extreme tho ($900), but I think it would be pretty cool because you'd get full coverage for accidents, as well as tons of added safety & convenience features (full-view backup camera instead of just a wide-angle lens, blindspot cameras, etc.).

 

[Kaido]

Also, depending on how much fabrication you want to do, you can also do some really nice integration. Here's a slick setup on a BRZ where the side mirrors were replaced with cameras & blindspot monitors were installed in the A-pillars. With either some fiberglass & bondo or maybe a 3D print job from Shapeways, you could set that up in any car:

http://www.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/86-Style-2013-78.jpg

More on that one: (exterior view pic on top)

http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/08/a-final-spotlight-86-rama-from-hachiroku-style/

And if you're into fabrication, people have made some nice-looking exterior setups as well:

http://0.tqn.com/d/cars/1/S/v/p/2/ag_13accord_sidecam.JPG

There's tons of ways to integrate cameras...small 3.5", 4", and 7" LCD screens only run between $20 to $50 online, so it's not super expensive to try out a project like this anymore. As mentioned above, most cameras only go for $15 or $20, including ones with the backup distance lines built-in to display on the screen. They even sell rearview mirrors with cameras built-in, including models with built-in DVR's & dual cameras: (only $99!)

http://www.amazon.com/Incredisonic-F...dp/B00E56WY18/

Goshers has an aftermarket blindspot detection system if you'd rather not put in cameras:

http://www.goshers.com/

And of course, the beeping backup alert kits are available for DIY, and are pretty cheap at around $20 a set too:

http://www.amazon.com/Parking-Sensor...dp/B0087QI3GM/

Even Garmin is getting in on the action...aside from their standalone car DVR units, they have a GPS with a wireless backup camera that triggers off taillight activation:

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-...vi-2798lmt-with-backup-camera/prod150565.html

I wanted to put in a techie system in my Kia, but I heard they're going to be releasing a turbo version of my Soul next year, so I'm holding off on doing any mods to it for the time being. I might pick up that rearview DVR since it's $100 & simply clamps onto your existing rearview mirror (and has clasps for holding the long power wire).

 

[Qacer]

Damn, that's a pretty detailed post! Actually, the 3D printing is a good idea. I just didn't think about it. It would be good to 3D print a dome that can hold a secondary monitor on my dash. I was actually thinking of just hanging the camera monitor on my visor. Plus, this would allow me to fold it in and out, but I think having it permanently on the dash is better.

My current setup is actually just a rear view camera. A DVR-027 dash cam. Plus, front and back electromagnetic sensors from Proxel. However, the only consistent component is the rear view camera. The dashcam is hit or miss due to its automatic exposure missing the mark at times. The electromagnetic sensors work, but are not reliable because it would warn you of an imminent collision even if you are a foot away from the object.

 

[Kaido]

Actually, the 3D printing is a good idea. I just didn't think about it. It would be good to 3D print a dome that can hold a secondary monitor on my dash. I was actually thinking of just hanging the camera monitor on my visor. Plus, this would allow me to fold it in and out, but I think having it permanently on the dash is better.

Yeah, there's a lot of ways to do it. Mostly depends on how in-depth you want to go with the physical installation. For always-on blindspot mirrors, I was thinking of a 3D-printed shell for a 3.5" screen in the driver's side A-pillar well (like in the BRZ pic above) & a rearview mirror with a built-in camera for the passenger's side camera. That way it's a no-fuss, at-a-glance blindspot checking setup. The camera picture seem to hold up pretty well in weather too (with the bubble domes & all); I think the only issue would be controlling the brightness of the LCD display screens so they're not super-bright at night (which may not be much of an issue if it's only displaying car headlights behind you - I'd have to test it).

From there, tie in the DVR, backup & cross-traffic cameras, etc. Landrover has one of the best setups I've come across - cameras everywhere with an easy color touchscreen interface. Here's a demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqZPHRozYrU

I believe Valeo makes their system - check out their videos too:

http://valeovision.com/innovation/

There's all kinds of fun techie stuff to get into with cars. I have mixed thoughts on that. For example, the Tesla has a huge 17" color touchscreen with HD backup camera, but it stinks for actually using while you're driving due to the lack of physical controls. I like having knobs to turn & buttons to push so I don't have to look at it while driving. I used to be into carputers, but it was so much work to setup & always a hassle to use, plus the world has changed - Spotify is king, Bluetooth comes in most new cars, etc. The other other piece I really like is Directed's key system sold under Viper's SmartStart brand:

http://www.viper.com/SmartStart/

At the core, it's a remote start system that relies on 3G rather than line-of-sight or a semi-usable radio distance...you can start it anywhere in the world from your phone (which does entail an annual fee for the cellular usage in the car's receiver module), so even if you're stuck at the back of your work building or school, you don't have to run up to the front window to pre-heat (or cool) your car, which is nice. Or if you (or your SO) locks the keys in the car, you can unlock remotely. Plus it has nifty features like GPS tracking (useful for Lojack-style vehicle recoveries or finding where you parked), geofencing & speed alerts for your kids or the valet, that sort of thing.

Plus you can get into stuff like dedicated GPS systems (I like Garmin myself, which has a lot of models with lifetime map updates & live traffic updates), ScanGuages for fuel & other tracking, OBD-II readers, speaker/subwoofer/bass shaker setups, heated seats, etc. All kinds of stuff to blow your money on :biggrin:

 

[Qacer]

I agree that the Landrover camera system looks pretty sweet. Currently, what's missing from a DIY perspective is the software overlay that ties all the camera perspectives into a bird's eye view, or like the Landrover, some guide line estimating your trajectory.

I also think Valeo has some advanced parking systems. My friend actually works for them. He sent me some video from a German advertisement of the company, and their technologies looked pretty amazing. I do believe they only cater to the car manufacturers since I have not seen any of their products available for purchase by consumers.

 

[Kaido]

Old thread bump. This concept now exists now as a turnkey system from Rydeen:

http://rydeenmobile.com/rdv360-3d-4-channel-dvr-360-view/

There are a couple Chinese knockoffs available for cheaper, but this seems to be the best one.

 

[Herr Kutz]

I've been going back and forth between getting one of these setups and installing it in my vehicle since it would make street parking much easier (I park on the street every day) but It's not worth the effort and money on my current vehicle. I'd like to get one when i purchased my new ride and have been looking at some vehicles that have it from the factory but the options are limited. Nissan offers it in the very affordable so trim of the rogue while the RAV4 requires a high level trim with option package ($$$$).

 

[Kaido]

I've been going back and forth between getting one of these setups and installing it in my vehicle since it would make street parking much easier (I park on the street every day) but It's not worth the effort and money on my current vehicle. I'd like to get one when i purchased my new ride and have been looking at some vehicles that have it from the factory but the options are limited. Nissan offers it in the very affordable so trim of the rogue while the RAV4 requires a high level trim with option package ($$$$).

Yeah, same. My current car is a lemon, so I don't want to invest anything into it. I've driven my buddy's nissan with the 360-camera & it's just great for weird parking situations...knowing instead of guessing just makes things really really nice & adds that extra safety factor. Of course, some of the newer cars like the Ford Explorer have self-parking features now, so you don't even need the 360 view in some situations, haha.