Big Brother In Japan: Horiba Itech to release new in-vehicle recorder for accidents

TOKYO April 7, 2006; Japan Today reported that Horiba Itech Co said the system engineering company will release Monday a type of in-vehicle equipment that automatically captures a video recording of the scene when the car is involved in an accident.

The recorder, priced at about 50,000 yen, is attached with a small camera that starts recording when detecting a strong impact to the car and records the moving image for 15 seconds before and five seconds after the impact. The video data can be saved on the recorder's memory card and played on personal computers. Drivers install the palm-sized gadget, which measures 11 centimeters by 8 cm and weighs 110 grams, on the windshield.