Combining a 4G Camera with the CarPro-Tec Alarm System
Combining a 4G Camera with the CarPro-Tec Alarm System
In a world characterized by constant mobility, the security of our vehicles is crucial. That's why the CarPro-Tec team has decided to enhance its alarm system by introducing a modern 4G camera, allowing for remote verification of triggered alarms. But how did we come to this decision?
Our approach was simple: We wanted to give our customers the ability to check alarms remotely.
In our development process for a 4G camera as part of the CarPro-Tec alarm system, several issues were identified:
- Non-threatening alarms: Unpredictable events like severe weather, a football hitting the vehicle, or a dog inside the vehicle can trigger alarms even though there is no immediate danger, only a harmless event.
- Evaluation difficulties: Alarms cannot be adequately assessed for their actual potential danger remotely, leading to uncertainty and misjudgments.
- Misjudgments: Alarms put us under pressure as we have to make an uncertain decision under time constraints. This can result in unnecessary or disproportionate measures, such as involving the police or fire department, or canceling trips or outings.
To meet the demands and security needs of CarPro-Tec and its customers, the following basic requirements were also defined:
- A slim design that seamlessly integrates into the vehicle interior without attracting attention.
- A built-in battery for additional reliability.
- Sharp image quality, including Full HD and night vision, to provide you with reliable situation analysis.
- Easy setup for quick and uncomplicated start-up.
- Economical data consumption to keep costs low.
- An intuitive camera app that allows for quick and uncomplicated review of live images to verify alarms.
- An affordable price range without compromising on German warranty and CarPro-Tec support.
Despite our years of experience and expertise in developing high-quality security systems, we faced a challenge:
We had to admit that we lacked expertise in camera technology to meet our own performance, price, and rapid development standards. Closing this gap in our expertise simply takes too much time. At the same time, we realized that many manufacturers were already more advanced in this specific area than we were.
The realization that developing a 4G camera would not be an in-house development was an important step for us at CarPro-Tec. It meant that we had to search for a third-party product that could meet our high standards in terms of both performance and price. This process led us on a journey of evaluating over eight different third-party cameras from the Far East, each covering different price and performance segments. Unfortunately, none of these cameras fully met all our requirements. However, we eventually found a camera solution that made it into the final selection — albeit with some compromises in the "look & feel" of the app and in the still-to-be-optimized language translation. Despite these compromises, we decided to include this camera in our CarPro-Tec portfolio, with a clear focus on pure alarm verification.
Next, at CarPro-Tec, we continue our collaboration with the camera manufacturer to optimize the app and improve the translation. The camera is intended to remain in the price range below €200 and continue to enjoy our 3-year CarPro-Tec warranty. This partnership marks an exciting new step for us — it's our first collaboration with a third-party manufacturer. We look forward to being able to offer you even more value for our CarPro-Tec alarm system as a result.