Setting aside the peculiar use of the term "civilian", I do think that there's a viable and reasonable market for this sort of less-conspicuous bodycam.<p>Where I live (not the US), it's increasingly common for retail employees in sketchy areas to wear highly conspicuous bodycams of the Taser Axon type due to increasing concerns about theft and assault. I'm not sure how much of a deterrent they are, but they certainly provide an insight into incidents that often isn't provided by standard fixed CCTV systems. The clear downside is the implicit message sent by their use - everyone knows what that bodycam says about the relationship between the store and the community they serve.<p>If I were a social worker or a nurse, I could see a great deal of value in a product like this. The designers seem to have struck a neat balance between discreetness when it's switched off and conspicuity when it's switched on. Obviously there are very significant privacy and data protection concerns that need to be seriously considered, but I could see a product like this offering significant benefits in terms of personal safety and professional liability.
> This all perhaps makes sense for European mores<p>Anyone else found this an odd sentiment? In my experience, a device like this will not likely receive much praise around Europe, regardless of social or professional setting.
Just a sidebar on the word "civilian". Police offices in the US like to call member of the public "civilians", but they themselves are civilians as they do not fall under the military code of justice. Unless you want to argue that they are an occupying force that is in armed conflict with the population and should be treated as combatants under the Geneva Conventions...
As a cyclist it seems like an attractive solution as a dash-cam equivalent. That's not really for security but for peace of mind with insurance claims.
Enjoyable to see new technologies enable old techniques <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillance" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillance</a>