Recording video of an operator and a surrounding visual field

A method comprising:

• determining, by a processor of a body mounted on a windshield of a vehicle and including an inward-facing camera, a setting for a privacy mode from a data storage;
• responsive to determining that the privacy mode is in a first setting selected by a driver,
• in response to a vehicle traveling over a predetermined speed, automatically determining, by the processor, a personal attribute indicative of a driver in the vehicle;
• in response to determining that the personal attribute indicative of the driver does not match any of a plurality of authorized drivers, automatically determining, by the processor, a device attribute indicative of a beacon device attained by the driver;
• and
• determining, by the processor, based on the device attribute and the personal attribute, whether the driver is an authorized driver of the vehicle;
• responsive to determining that the privacy mode is in a second setting selected by the driver,
• determining, by the processor, the device attribute indicative of the beacon device attained by the driver;
• and
• determining, by the processor, based on the device attribute and without an attempted determination of the personal attribute, whether the driver is an authorized driver of the vehicle;
• and
• transmitting, by the processor, an electronic message indicating whether the driver is the authorized driver of the vehicle.

A system comprising:

• a detachable body configured to be mounted on a windshield of a vehicle, the detachable body containing a plurality of apertures, the detachable body housing:
• a plurality of video cameras located at the plurality of apertures, the plurality of video cameras configured to capture surrounding views from the detachable body, one of the plurality of video cameras at a first aperture of the plurality of apertures and on a first side surface of the detachable body facing a driver seat of the vehicle in response to the detachable body being mounted on the windshield of the vehicle, one of the plurality of video cameras at a second aperture of the plurality of apertures and on a second side surface of the detachable body facing outside of the vehicle through the windshield in response to the detachable body being mounted on the windshield of the vehicle;
• and
• an event detector processor that causes the plurality of video cameras to begin recording in response to a presence of a passenger in the vehicle detected using an extracted feature or motion vector from an image processor coupled to the plurality of video cameras.

A machine-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

• determining a setting for a privacy mode from a data storage, wherein the one or more processors is housed in a body mounted on a windshield of a vehicle and includes an inward-facing camera;
• responsive to determining that the privacy mode is in a first setting selected by a driver,
• in response to a vehicle traveling over a predetermined speed, automatically determining a personal attribute indicative of a driver in the vehicle;
• in response to determining that the personal attribute indicative of the driver does not match any of a plurality of authorized drivers, automatically determining a device attribute indicative of a beacon device attained by the driver;
• and
• determining based on the device attribute and the personal attribute, whether the driver is an authorized driver of the vehicle;
• responsive to determining that the privacy mode is in a second setting selected by the driver,
• determining the device attribute indicative of the beacon device attained by the driver;
• and
• determining based on the device attribute and without an attempted determination of the personal attribute, whether the driver is an authorized driver of the vehicle;
• and
• transmitting an electronic message indicating whether the driver is the authorized driver of the vehicle.