A red rear light with a built in camera to catch dangerous vehicle manoeuvres behind a bike has started a crowd-sourcing campaign to raise AU$95,000 (US$85,000/£52,000).
The Fly6 seat-post mounted rear light features a wide angle HD camera meaning it can catch dodgy driving – and sound - during the day before acting as a beacon at night. Check out some of the footage from early prototypes below.
footage from the fly6
The device – which acts like a backward facing helmet cam - is the brainchild of two friends and entrepreneurs Andrew Hagen (CEO) and Kingsley Fiegert from Perth in Western Australia. The pair trawled the internet for a device after Fiegert was hit by something thrown or catapulted out of a passing car and noted a gap in the market.
The 30-day Kickstarter campaign started yesterday to raise the cash that will be used to take the product to market. Upgrades include tweaking the already impressive prototype design, enhancing the software, increasing the light output and – hopefully for the Australian pair – securing the patents that protect the Fly6.
Hagen said: "As motorists become aware that they could be recorded, they behave accordingly just as they do when they see traffic or speed cameras are ahead."
To ensure that motorists know they are being filmed a circle of LEDs flash when the camera is in operation.
Features include five hours of rechargeable battery life, looping video recording, incident capture functionality and an 8GB micro SD card which should be good for between 50-80 minutes.
Fly6 sent BikeRadar a prototype and its first impressions were impressive. It's intuitive and easy to use, footage quality is good and the rear lights are already eye-hurtingly bright. We're looking forward to seeing what ride footage is like on the UK's bumpy roads.
The unit is expected to hit sale in Australia in July and Europe and America in October. It will be priced at AU$169/US$152/£92.
Crowd source funding has been a happy hunting ground for bike light developers. Blink/Steady, Blaze, Sparse and See Sense have all found their way into production after successful cash-gathering campaigns.