First the basic specs are solid: the 8MP cam can film at full HD continuously for three hours with Wi-Fi off: That’s 1080p at 30 fps, or 720p at 60 fps on an 1100mAh li-ion battery, and comes with a wireless charging mat. It will do hyperlapse at 4K, either 1080p or 720p. The viewing angle is 130 degrees, and Graava offers auto rotation for either horizontal or (the dreaded) vertical video. It has a looping mode that lets you continuously record. Like any good action cam worth its salt, it sports an IP67 water-resistance rating, which means it’s sealed against dust and water up to one meter.
That’s pretty darn good, but that’s not what makes it special. Graava uses a built-in accelerometer, GPS, microphone, and image sensors, and can even pair with third-party heart rate monitors to identify scenes worth keeping in your footage.
The image sensors let Graava detect objects moving in frame; the accelerometer tells it when you speed up, slow down, or change direction, and a thudding heart beat picked up by the heart-rate monitor — if you have one — tells Graava when something exciting happens.
Besides the heart-rate monitor link option (pretty unique for a camera), thanks to the GPS, Graavas can link to each other as well — they recognize when other Graavas are filming the same action and will ask permission of both Graava users to edit the footage together into one video, ending up with a multiple-perspective film.
Graava’s intelligent algorithms make good work of the mic, and handles post-production music. During filming, the little smart camera listens for its name as a cue. Say “Graava!” to be sure that moment is included in the final vid. Pick your song, and Graava will trim the footage to fit the beat. Of course, you do have control over the editing process yourself. If Graava missed anything, you can access the raw footage to include the scenes you want. Based on your editing decisions, Graava’s algorithm learns to cut footage the way you want.
The free Graava app is perfectly designed to share video. Once you select the social media outlet, Graava will edit your piece to fit that site (since sites like Instagram and Vine have time limits on their videos, in this case 15 and six seconds, respectively). When Graava is charging, either on the handy charging mat or via Micro USB, it also automatically saves footage to the cloud.
Because it’s so small, it’s easy to mount in the best spot to catch the action. The Graava smart camera comes with three mounting options in addition to the magnetic charging station: an adhesive mount, a clip, and a bike mount.
Combining easy portability, action-cam sturdiness, and a revolutionary auto-editing algorithm, Matter Design‘s Graava could start a revolution in the consumer camera market. Why would anyone ever spend hours editing their footage again? Grab a preorder at $250, or wait for the standard retail release and grab it for $400. The little miracle camera is set to ship in early 2016.
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