Samsara just announced Camera Connector, a new product that connects side, rear, and interior vehicle camera feeds to Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud. By bringing cloud connectivity to third-party cameras for the first time, Camera Connector allows organizations to leverage existing vehicle camera investments to reduce safety incidents, protect against not-at-fault claims, and enhance the driver experience.
Companies across the commercial transportation industry, from long-haul trucking to field services to passenger transit, are at risk for high-cost incidents on the road, such as sideswiping and back-up collisions. In fact, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety claims that 242,000 sideswipe crashes occur every year. While some fleets may have camera systems with in-cab monitors to help drivers eliminate blind spots, these systems commonly use on-premise, local memory-based storage without cloud connectivity or don’t record footage at all. This means fleets miss out on powerful video evidence to exonerate drivers in the moment and provide valuable video-based coaching after the fact.
Samsara’s Camera Connector addresses these challenges by bringing side, rear, and interior camera feeds into a single view within the Connected Operations Cloud. When combined with Samsara’s AI Dash Cams, customers gain 360° visibility of safety incidents in a single dashboard. This increased visibility combined with cloud connectivity allows managers to access the right footage in minutes and exonerate drivers from false claims.
“We can now seamlessly integrate our existing cameras with Samsara’s platform, quickly retrieve video footage through the cloud in minutes, and significantly decrease our volume of backup incidents and associated payouts,” said Sajid Ordagic, Safety Manager at Rasmussen Group. The Iowa-based heavy construction company with hundreds of concrete trucks has seen a 30% reduction in backup incidents since installing Samsara Camera Connectors, and they expect that number to increase over time. With on-demand video evidence that was previously unavailable, Rasmussen Group estimates $30,000 saved by exonerating drivers from false claims.
In addition to providing on-demand video evidence, Camera Connector integrates third-party camera feeds into Samsara’s video-based workflows for coaching and safety insights. This means safety managers can leverage side, rear, and interior footage when coaching drivers, contributing to an enhanced experience because drivers can improve their habits on the road over time. For example, Superior Plus Propane, a propane distributor serving 24 states across the U.S.
with 2,300 trucks and more than 1,000 drivers, can now coach drivers more effectively on their backup protocols. According to Ryan Quiggle, Director of Health and Safety at Superior Plus Propane, “Having the Camera Connector will allow us to sit in our drivers’ seats and walk in their shoes. It will give us a much clearer picture into their exposure and the hazards they’re facing.”
Without the need to rip and replace existing camera systems, customers using Camera Connector can also experience efficiency gains when it comes to installation. In fact, Superior Plus Propane was able to install Camera Connector six times faster compared to replacing previous systems. Their Director of Fleet, Bruce Ruppert, explained, “Camera Connector can help us take full advantage of existing cameras as we grow through acquisition, helping us scale our video-based safety program in a cost-effective way.”
Samsara’s Camera Connector is now generally available to all Samsara customers. To learn more please visit https://www.samsara.com/products/safety/camera-connector
