Use an Android as a Dash Cam
Share your ride with an Android, and Charles Handmer.
We often see car dash cam video clips in anything from daily news reports to YouTube craziness. Dash cams are very popular in Europe, and apparently just about all vehicles in Russia have them as an insurance requirement. They are also becoming increasingly popular in Australia, and police investigations routinely ask for any dash cam footage from passing motorists.
A few years ago we drove from London to Edinburgh via the west coast of Wales, and hope to have more road trips in future. A high definition dash cam recorded the entire trip on a small stack of SD cards, which have since been transcribed into a very long road movie that provides virtual travel when the craving is strong!
A basic dash cam can be purchased for under $50, rising to more like $200 for a high-end unit. Dash cams usually incorporate one or more cameras, a small viewing screen, a memory card for storage, and a battery that is supplemented by a USB connection. Sounds a lot like an old smartphone...
So, as we always ask, can we get it for free with Android? This seems like another opportunity for a superseded Android phone to live a second life.
What device do you need?
Any Android device with a camera could be used, but a smartphone is a conveniently-sized package with the benefits of a larger screen and much more processing power than a camera. Smartphones usually have decent cameras and batteries, although continuous dash cam use drains batteries fast so you will need external power for any extended trip regardless of the device.
Of course, you can use your normal phone as a dash cam, although Murphy’s Law says that mixing too many functions at a time is bound to cause issues. We had a couple of retired Androids available, so did not go down that path.
The first challenge is finding a way to secure your Android in an appropriate position to record as you drive. Fortunately there are plenty of windscreen or dash mounted holders available for smartphones, although you need to find one that can hold your chosen device at the desired angle without obscuring the camera. Many phone holders are only designed for vertical orientation, but horizontal is the norm for dash cam use.
You will probably want to put your phone out of sight when parked, and a simple dedicated option like a magnetic holder may also work well. On the other hand, if your phone supports wireless charging a holder that provides this would be great, because dash cam apps drain the battery fast.
I’m a cyclist
Just as your Android can perform dash cam functions, it can equally function as a cycle cam. Again, you need to find an appropriate mounting system, and there are plenty of options available – just search for “cycle phone holder“on eBay.
Dash cam apps
Having set up a windscreen or dash mounted holder in a secure spot that does not obscure your vision, it’s time to try the camera. You can of course take photos and videos with the default camera app, but a dedicated dash cam app is required for any serious use. And some dash cam apps will give you much more than the basic functions, because the phone processor is far more powerful than a basic camera. They can even add some of the features found in new car technology.
We tried a selection of dash cam apps from the Google Play Store, and here are our favourites:
Dash Cam Travel – Car Camera app, Blackbox
Dash Cam Travel provides an easy to use interface and good range of standard dash cam functions, plus a few extras like a Google maps route overlay and a fun inclinometer that display over your video. You can select whether to include these items in your recordings (Pro version only), or just the video stream, which you can also choose to record in the background with the screen turned off or performing other functions.
Dash Cam Travel supports operation in vertical orientation as well as horizontal, which along with screen-off (background) recording makes it well suited to use on your everyday phone if you don’t want to set up a dedicated phone for the purpose. The ad-supported free version is fine for this, and there are several paid levels starting at $7 to remove ads and watermarks. In any version there are plenty of settings available to make it work just the way you want.
Droid Dashcam - Driving video recorder, BlackBox
Droid Dashcam is similar to Dash Cam Travel in functionality, with the ad-supported free version having a few more features. Its interface is more streamlined and quite intuitive to use. Well worth trying to see if it suits your needs.
AutoBoy Dash Cam - BlackBox AutoBoy Dash Cam is an adsupported free dash cam app with comprehensive user interface and recording options. Its interface is very uncluttered but not quite as intuitive to use. Another option worth exploring.
Roadly dashcam & speed camera
If you are looking for more, Roadly dashcam makes some big promises of new-car tech, including:
• being a smart assistant that recognises traffic signs
• warning if you are speeding
• warning you about speed cameras
• recording speed and GPS data
• exposure compensation to maintain constant brightness
• automatic start/stop when driving or stopping
• and the ability to share on YouTube with a couple of clicks. Roadly performed well as a dash cam, although it had difficulty recognising road signs. Perhaps our Australian ones do not match its database. If it wasn’t sure it seemed to take a guess, which was frequently “NO OVERTAKING OR PASSING” regardless of road conditions.
In our testing speed limit signs were not recognised, however, some signs are only notified above 30 kph, and our inner-city testing was often below this speed. We did not test its speed camera notifications!
Overall, Roadly is interesting and might be good for creating a more sophisticated dash cam on a dedicated Android device. But it does take over your phone, running in the background continuously if you enable this and chewing up battery power. Again, this is not a problem with a dedicated dash cam phone, but would be annoying if you were also using the phone for other purposes.
Roadly’s picture-in-picture function works well, and can be swapped between camera and Google maps views with a tap on the screen. You have to give the developer credit for the sophistication of features, and with luck the app will continue to be developed. The next major road trip is not likely to happen soon, so Roadly may be perfect by then!