OpenDashcam Notify me

Coming Q1 2027

The dashcam that keeps the clip.

OpenDashcam is an open-source dashcam built on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, with firmware written in Rust. It's designed around one job: when something happens on the road, the recording is there and it plays.

Press the button to save a clip.

Built so the last minute before a crash is never the one that's missing.

Most dashcams lose footage the same few ways: power cuts mid-write, worn-out cards, frozen firmware. We designed each of those out.

  • Shuts down on its own terms

    Built-in supercapacitors keep the camera running after you turn off the car or the power drops, long enough to finish the recording and shut down cleanly. No corrupted last file, and no battery to wear out in a hot car.

  • System and footage never share a disk

    The system runs from a read-only card that is never written to. Video goes to a separate, removable USB drive you can pull out and plug into any computer.

  • Loop recording, one-button save

    It records continuously and replaces the oldest footage when the drive fills up. Press the button and the current clip is kept from being overwritten.

  • Starts when the car does

    No pairing and no app needed to start recording. Power on and it records. A small display shows at a glance that it's working.

  • Watches itself

    A separate microcontroller supervises power and the main computer, and restarts it if it hangs. If the USB drive hangs, its port is power-cycled instead of the whole dashcam rebooting.

  • Open, and yours

    The firmware, board and enclosure designs are open source. Your footage stays on your drive. No cloud account.

Two ways to get one.

DIY

For makers who want to build and tinker

Everything is published, so you can build your own from the design files, modify it, and fix it yourself.

  • Carrier board design files
  • Enclosure models
  • Firmware image and source

Contents and pricing announced at launch.

Pre-built

For drivers who want it to just work

Assembled and tested by us, running the same open firmware. Mount it, plug it in, drive.

  • Assembled and tested
  • Enclosure included
  • Same open-source firmware and updates

Pricing announced at launch.

Under the hood.

For the curious. The design may still change before launch.

Computer
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WOn a custom carrier board designed for this dashcam
Camera
Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3
Firmware
Rust services on LinuxRecorder, power and display services, supervised by systemd
Recording
Hardware H.264, segmented streamable MKVShort segments, so an interrupted one is still playable
Storage
Removable USB flash drive for videoSystem on a separate read-only card
Power backup
SupercapacitorsNo battery to age in a hot car
Supervisor
STM32 microcontrollerPower, watchdog and real-time clock
USB
Dedicated hub chip with switchable powerRecovers a hung USB drive without a reboot
Display
128×32 OLED status screenPlus a buzzer for audible alerts

A companion app is on the way.

We're building an app for reviewing and downloading your clips from your phone. The dashcam works fully without it; the app just makes getting footage off easier.

Who's building it.

Jiří Maňák

Hardware and firmware

Embedded engineer, previously at Prusa Research. Designs the board and writes the dashcam firmware.

Ondřej Mahdalík

Software and companion app

Full-stack developer, previously at SolarWinds. Builds the companion app.

Launching Q1 2027.

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