We designed the NavAI for teaching and training environments where motion is often fluid. That’s why durability was the first design consideration. Most cameras on the market today share one common characteristic – a plastic body. While plastic is less expensive than metal, it’s also less durable, doesn’t shed heat as well, and lacks strength when it comes to long-term use. The AV industry, like many others, focuses on fast manufacturing times, lowering material costs, and making products lighter. This means that most cameras today are plastic-based, even though plastic isn’t as strong as other materials.
VDO360 has multiple cameras in our product line constructed with plastic frames, including the TeamCam, CompassX, TridentAI, and Saber20X NDI. These are robust, enterprise-grade products. We chose plastic in this case because they are typically mounted permanently in their environment and wouldn’t benefit as much from a metal frame.
Because it’s not permanently mounted, we decided to manufacture the NavAI from a solid block of billet aluminum, just like we did with our 1SEE USB-HUB camera. This design delivers superior heat transfer for the NavAI, which has high-density circuitry used to control its auto-framing function. The end result is a high-performance, nearly indestructible camera dependable in a wide range of mission-critical applications requiring auto-framing.
Is billet aluminum more expensive to manufacture? Is it stronger than plastic? You be the judge. We ran over a 1SEE with a 6500 lb Chevy Silverado. As it was recording. The webcam disavows any damage that may or may not have been done to the truck. It also has no knowledge of any alleged plot to get back at company founder, Dan Freeman, for running it over with his truck.
