Photo: @RivianSoftware via Twitter
Rivian recently refined the Gear Guard Camera feature on its vehicles and allowed using the onboard cameras as dashcams. Still, people are unhappy because the video quality provided by the onboard cameras is disappointing, to say the least. The resolution is so low that you can't read a plate number on a nearby car, which makes it unusable for security purposes.
Tesla spoiled its owners by installing several cameras around their vehicles to help Autopilot (and later FSD Beta) see around the car. The same cameras are used as dash cams while driving or security cameras when parked. The features became very popular and helped owners catch people keying their cars or trying to break in. Other carmakers followed suit, and many even improved on these features.
For instance, many car models offer a bird's eye view image by stitching the video stream from all cameras. Although many Tesla owners would love to have this, Tesla only offered a crippled "multi-view camera" feature. Despite all the AI prowess, Tesla expects its owners to watch video streams separately, despite being all on the same screen.
Rivian is also using several onboard cameras to feed the driver assistance systems. Rivian R1S and R1T feature fewer cameras, with only one side camera in each door mirror. Tesla has two on each side, one in the front fender and the other integrated into the B-pillar. The number of cameras is less important, though, as they are low resolution on Rivian vehicles, making them less useful for things besides driver assistance.
Still, this didn't stop Rivian from trying to match what Tesla offers to its owners. In May, the 2023.14.00 update improved the Gear Guard feature. Rivian owners could use the onboard cameras as dash cams for the first time thanks to the Drive Cam feature. Gear Guard has also been enhanced to offer more options for people trying to save clips during incidents or when somebody approaches the vehicle (the function has been renamed Motion Cam).
Refining the Gear Guard features is more than welcome. Still, owners now complain that the videos are almost unusable because the cameras offer low-resolution images. In the worst-case scenario, you can't use the images as evidence when somebody vandalizes your Rivian. User u/BDB8566 wrote on the Rivian subreddit that they had a table stolen from the truck's bed. Luckily, Gear Guard activated for 30 seconds and caught the thief in action. Unfortunately, they couldn't read the license plate number of the car used to commit the crime because the video was low-resolution and blurry.
Other owners also complained about the horrible video quality, especially when compared to what Tesla offers. Since many Rivian owners also own a Tesla (or they did before buying the Rivian), the comparison was not flattering. The difference is night and day in the case of the upgraded HW4 cameras, which output 5 MP resolution. That's five times the resolution of previous HW3 cameras. Still, even those offered better images than Rivian cameras.
As some owners pointed out, Rivian did not intend to offer security camera features, so it went with the cheapest hardware that could do what it needed – providing traffic context for driver assist systems. This way, Rivian could save not only on camera hardware but also on storage and processing power. The cameras also have a fisheye lens to catch a wider field of view, which worsens the image quality. Still, it's ridiculous in 2023 to have such low-quality cameras on a $100K vehicle.
For instance, many car models offer a bird's eye view image by stitching the video stream from all cameras. Although many Tesla owners would love to have this, Tesla only offered a crippled "multi-view camera" feature. Despite all the AI prowess, Tesla expects its owners to watch video streams separately, despite being all on the same screen.
Rivian is also using several onboard cameras to feed the driver assistance systems. Rivian R1S and R1T feature fewer cameras, with only one side camera in each door mirror. Tesla has two on each side, one in the front fender and the other integrated into the B-pillar. The number of cameras is less important, though, as they are low resolution on Rivian vehicles, making them less useful for things besides driver assistance.
Still, this didn't stop Rivian from trying to match what Tesla offers to its owners. In May, the 2023.14.00 update improved the Gear Guard feature. Rivian owners could use the onboard cameras as dash cams for the first time thanks to the Drive Cam feature. Gear Guard has also been enhanced to offer more options for people trying to save clips during incidents or when somebody approaches the vehicle (the function has been renamed Motion Cam).
Refining the Gear Guard features is more than welcome. Still, owners now complain that the videos are almost unusable because the cameras offer low-resolution images. In the worst-case scenario, you can't use the images as evidence when somebody vandalizes your Rivian. User u/BDB8566 wrote on the Rivian subreddit that they had a table stolen from the truck's bed. Luckily, Gear Guard activated for 30 seconds and caught the thief in action. Unfortunately, they couldn't read the license plate number of the car used to commit the crime because the video was low-resolution and blurry.
Other owners also complained about the horrible video quality, especially when compared to what Tesla offers. Since many Rivian owners also own a Tesla (or they did before buying the Rivian), the comparison was not flattering. The difference is night and day in the case of the upgraded HW4 cameras, which output 5 MP resolution. That's five times the resolution of previous HW3 cameras. Still, even those offered better images than Rivian cameras.
As some owners pointed out, Rivian did not intend to offer security camera features, so it went with the cheapest hardware that could do what it needed – providing traffic context for driver assist systems. This way, Rivian could save not only on camera hardware but also on storage and processing power. The cameras also have a fisheye lens to catch a wider field of view, which worsens the image quality. Still, it's ridiculous in 2023 to have such low-quality cameras on a $100K vehicle.
Lady parked right next to my truck, stole my table, and the Gear Guard video is too blurry to read the license plate.
by u/BDB8566 in Rivian
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