I did consider that one cannot always get on the Internet, but I didn't mention it in my writeup. The device could upload the recording whenever the Internet was available.
That would leave the problem that the cops know you've got such a gadget, so they prevent you from going to a wifi spot. For this we use the kind of mesh network as was used in the Hong Kong protests a few months ago. I think they didn't write that app themselves, it was already available from the App Store or Google Play.
Most phones have wifi, bluetooth and 4G. If any one of those can connect - somehow - to the Internet then we can upload.
The problem with battery life would be hard to solve on an actual phone but not hard at all to solve on dedicated hardware. A very, very large chunk of your power consumption goes into managing hardware security and virtual memory.
If you had no security at all, and no virtual memory, then you use quite a lot less power. That's quite common with embedded applications, such as TI DPSs running SYSBIOS (previous DSP/BIOS). I have some experience with DSP/BIOS it would not be hard at all to make a device the size of an iPhone that could run for a week or two between recharges.
The device would be a lot more acceptable to most people if it were not plainly visible. Suppose the camera lens could be clipped to your shirt, but the rest of the device is in your pants pocket or your purse, with a bluetooth connection between the two.
I fully understand there are many problems with this concept, but solving these kinds of problems is what engineers actually do to feed their hungry children. :-D
The problem to be solved here, as I understand it, is accessing the recording after someone takes the recording device away from you, and possibly also attempts to delete your recordings.
You don't need to upload to the cloud here. You just need to upload to a storage device that cannot be easily recognized as the upload target for the recorder, and would not typically have probable cause for a search.
These could be attached to the recorder using a wide variety of short-range wireless communications technologies. Maybe your pinky ring has a microSD card under the gaudy cabochon, and connects using IEEE 802.15.6. Maybe you get a parylene-coated implant in your beer belly. Maybe your eyeglasses can store 256 GB. Perhaps the label on your underwear can store more data than just your name. Or one of the keys on your key ring does not actually open any lock.
Maybe the "delete" function in your device's UI also activates a piercing audible alarm that screams "SPOLIATION! SPOLIATION! SOMEONE IS TRYING TO DESTROY MY EVIDENCE!" and the real data-destruction function requires a pre-authorized device to activate.
The device itself would, of course, need a decoy SD card in it somewhere. People tend not to stop looking for something until they find it.
As for the recorder portion, it would have to be plainly visible to be legal in all US jurisdictions. Also, you need something obvious for the bad actor to take, so that he can believe that he has confiscated both your recorder and your recent recordings.
The data are the important parts, if you can give your attorney a recording of the cop illegally seizing your camera, it is a lot easier to get it back.
I did consider that one cannot always get on the Internet, but I didn't mention it in my writeup. The device could upload the recording whenever the Internet was available.
That would leave the problem that the cops know you've got such a gadget, so they prevent you from going to a wifi spot. For this we use the kind of mesh network as was used in the Hong Kong protests a few months ago. I think they didn't write that app themselves, it was already available from the App Store or Google Play.
Most phones have wifi, bluetooth and 4G. If any one of those can connect - somehow - to the Internet then we can upload.
The problem with battery life would be hard to solve on an actual phone but not hard at all to solve on dedicated hardware. A very, very large chunk of your power consumption goes into managing hardware security and virtual memory.
If you had no security at all, and no virtual memory, then you use quite a lot less power. That's quite common with embedded applications, such as TI DPSs running SYSBIOS (previous DSP/BIOS). I have some experience with DSP/BIOS it would not be hard at all to make a device the size of an iPhone that could run for a week or two between recharges.
The device would be a lot more acceptable to most people if it were not plainly visible. Suppose the camera lens could be clipped to your shirt, but the rest of the device is in your pants pocket or your purse, with a bluetooth connection between the two.
I fully understand there are many problems with this concept, but solving these kinds of problems is what engineers actually do to feed their hungry children. :-D