I got some components for the bodycams overnight from Amazon the cheapest webcam and battery pack I could find. After stripping both, I managed to bring the cost down to $50 per bodycam for four cameras, which is incredible. I assembled and mounted them in the morning.
In the afternoon, I started thinking about how best to showcase the system. Then it hit me — Yosemite, just two hours from SF, offers one of the most stunning backdrops in the country. While I couldn't livestream from there yet, it would be the perfect setting for a demo. I scheduled it for Saturday the 18th, planning to bring a videographer (since I don't have a license) to film a high-quality demo.
After sharing the tech online, I got inbound interest from X, which pushed me to revisit the Starlink computer and make it more polished for a B2C version. I also spoke with three farmers and two mining sites interested in potential applications.
I printed a new casing, cut and resoldered some wires, and picked up a USB-C solar panel from REI. By the end of the day, I had a working B2C prototype. The improvement is clear in the photo below.
Since the Yosemite deployment couldn't happen until next week, I decided to park the prototypes for now.
before and after comparison of bodycam prototypes
improved B2C prototype