Dashcams are incredibly popular in Russia — mostly because they're used to provide evidence of traffic collisions — but they're not widely used elsewhere. Rubin wants to change that with a dashcam that would be free in exchange for its data. While there's no set release date, the dream is to potentially build a real-time visual map of the world.
Dashcams could enable real-time traffic status, or even a real-time Street View-like service. Google has done an incredible job of mapping the world through Google Maps, but it's merely a regularly updated snapshot in time at the moment. A real-time view of the world has many benefits, but Rubin doesn't address any of the potential privacy issues or legal obstacles in the Wired interview.
Alongside the dashcam, Rubin reveals he has other ideas "that I'm not willing to talk about." Rubin is currently building an ecosystem of hardware and software tools to help entrepreneurs of all sizes, including those found on Kickstarter, realize their ideas. Rubin appears to be building a modular hardware ecosystem for any type of device, something that will aid startups for years to come.
