GROUNDBREAKING new technology that could become a ‘black box’ for cars is being developed in Hampshire.

Electronic engineers at Roke Manor Research in Romsey have produced a device that enables 3D footage to be produced from the dashboard – showing the exact trajectory of the vehicle in the run up to an accident even if it loses control.

Initially developed to help soldiers in combat navigate their way around a building, the technology uses a camera and a motion sensor and could be used on bikes, in HGVs or cars - or via an app on a phone.

It could also be key in making self-drive vehicles safer and comes just a week after a semi-automated Tesla car crashed in the US, killing the driver.

The device – whose working name is vPinpoint – combines a standard dash cam with an inertial measurement unit, the gizmo used in smartphones to enable the compass and to realign the screen when the phone is turned around.

Recording 200 measurements a second while the vehicle is in motion, the bank of data is then used to produce a basic representation of the vehicle’s trajectory, before being transformed into a sophisticated 3D reconstruction of the journey.

The footage could be used by insurers to process claims more quickly – or even developed by computer companies to make user-generated video games.

Engineers Mikael Mannberg and James Revell have been developing the technology for nearly three years and are now ready to find manufacturers or companies who want to licence the microchip or algorithms. Dr James Revell, Consultant Engineer at Roke said: “Unlike current dashcams, the technology uses computer vision algorithms to enable the precise position and orientation of any vehicle – car, bike, lorry or autonomous vehicle. This allows for near-perfect 3D reconstruction of any accident to be created even if the vehicle loses complete control.”

Mikael, who has a background in aerospace, said: “We’re trying to figure out now the best way of moving forward and getting it robust and reliable enough to move it on. The algorithms are fairly standard but it’s the engineering around it – making sure it can handle all sorts of environments and lighting conditions.

“We might also be able to use it for the emergency services, as well as in sports to improve performance.

“It can also be used to run everything live and in real time – anything that you need accurate positioning for.”

Roke is an independent research and development company and has had £15,000 funding from Innovate UK to help develop the gadget.