Cameras have made it easy for drivers to keep a recording of the road ahead and reverse without craning their necks around. Now Garmin is letting drivers more easily keep an eye on the back seat with its new babyCam. While in-vehicle video monitors aren’t new, Garmin’s is the first to work in conjunction with an existing GPS navigator display – as long as it’s one of the compatible models from Garmin.
BabyCam is designed to let drivers keep an eye on bub – or Fido, or whatever else is in the back seat – without turning around and taking their eyes off the road. The compact device measures 86.5 x 39.9 x 43.7 mm and attaches to front- or backseat headrest (depending which way the baby is facing) using a twist-to-clamp bracket. There’s no need to mess about with wiring during installation as the device is powered by two AA batteries and relays video to a paired Garmin navigation device wirelessly.
The camera captures 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution video at 30 fps and features an adjustable viewing angle to focus on one or multiple car seats. If the wide viewing angle isn’t enough to capture all the action or you’re in a vehicle with multiple rows of seats, up to four cameras can combined in a single system. The camera also features night vision capabilities to keep tabs on baby at night without risking waking them by turning on the interior lights.
Drivers can switch between navigation and babyCam view with a press of the GPS touchscreen or, on compatible voice-controlled models, via voice command. There’s also no need to manually turn the camera on and off as it activates automatically when the GPS is switched to babyCam view and switches off to conserve power in map view. And if you’re the forgetful type, the GPS will display a reminder to check the back seat before exiting the vehicle.
The babyCam is due for release in January 2016 priced at US$199.99. A list of Garmin navigators compatible with the device can be found via the product page below.
The video below shows the babyCam in action.
Source: Garmin
