Acumulus9 aims to improve upon the existing lifelogging camera experience by not taking photos at predetermined intervals, but having its QindredCam select when and where to take a snap. It offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and incorporates cloud storage to make it easy for users to view and share content.
We’ve covered a number of lifelogging cameras at Gizmag over the last couple of years. Just last month, Narrative outed it’s upgraded Clip 2 snapper and SnapCam unveiled the iON, a wearable capable of capturing and streaming HD video in addition to stills.
But while those cameras offer some interesting functionality, the makers of the QindredCam believe that they still fall short of the mark – that their fixed interval capturing technique leads to poorly timed, sub-par photos and videos that fail to live up to the promise of the medium.
Acumulus9's solution is a camera that takes timely snaps by making use of integrated motion and ambient light sensors, alongside a programmable image detection sensor that tracks who and what is in front of the lens. While the team hasn’t provided any details on exactly what the sensors look for, the idea is to capture shots at the best possible moment, in terms of both picture quality and content.
There’s a GPS sensor on board to allow for geographic sorting of content, and the camera can be worn around the user’s neck, clipped onto clothing and even mounted on bikes and in cars. If you want to capture a specific moment, manual options allow the user to take photos and videos using physical controls.
In terms of optics, the weatherproof QindredCam packs an 8 megapixel Sony sensor and a 140 degree wide-angle lens. It’s capable of recording up to 1080p video and sports dual microphones complete with noise cancellation tech. The unit comes with a built-in speaker included for alerts or music playback and its battery should be good for 10-15 hours per charge, and which is topped up over micro-USB.
The camera comes with 4 GB of internal storage and though that might seem a little low, the company is putting an emphasis on cloud connectivity. Whenever the QindredCam is connected to Wi-Fi, it will upload all recorded photos to the Qindred cloud storage service, allowing them to be viewed and privately shared by the user.
A companion app will be available on iOS and Android, and users will also be able to access content through the company’s website. Cloud storage for content recorded by QindredCam is free for the user.
The QindredCam lifelogging camera isn’t quite a finished product at the moment, and the project has launched on Kickstarter for the final push to production. While the company does have a prototype of the camera that's claimed capable of performing all of the advertised functions, it’s asking Kickstarter backers to help finalize the finished look by voting for their pick of three different designs for the final product.
As of writing, early adopters can still pledge for a current prototype at the US69 funding level, though this is only open to Android users and limited to just 20 units. Early bird backers will need to pledge $99 for one of first production models. If all goes to plan, the early adopter beta units are expected to ship in March, with the first production units following in May 2015.
You can see the team's crowdfunding pitch video below.
Sources: Acumulus9, Kickstarter
These technologies have been possible over the last decade, the improvements have mostly been to size and power of HW. Qindred seem to be able to get a lot done in a small package. Great application of digital algorithms!