PhoneCam on BNR Zakendoen: Live Support, Privacy and the Future of Personal Safety

PhoneCam co-founder and CEO Kaspar Scheltema joined Thomas van Zijl on BNR Zakendoen to pitch the company’s ambition and discuss how compact camera technology can make people safer and provide direct support.

It was a pleasure to join Thomas van Zijl on Zakendoen, the business programme on Dutch radio station BNR, for an engaging conversation about PhoneCam, our technology and our ambitions for the future.

The programme started with a short pitch in which I introduced PhoneCam and explained our mission: to make help directly accessible through a small camera connected to a smartphone. Unlike traditional body cameras, which are primarily designed to record events, PhoneCam focuses on enabling people to receive live support when they need it.

Following the pitch, we had an interesting discussion about the technology, its practical applications and some of the important questions surrounding the use of wearable cameras.

Privacy by design: transparency and control

Privacy was an important topic during the conversation. Wearable cameras raise questions about when recording takes place, who can see the footage and how users can maintain control.

I had the opportunity to explain how PhoneCam addresses these concerns. A clear LED indicator shows when the camera is active, making its status visible to people nearby. The camera is designed to be used when necessary, rather than recording continuously in the background and the recordings are saved secure locally.

From professional applications to consumer safety

PhoneCam was launched in 2025 and has since gained experience through more than 50 customers and pilot projects. Building on this professional foundation, we are now developing a consumer version designed to make the technology accessible to a much wider audience.

One important application is support for people who are blind or have low vision. By combining live camera and audio input with AI, we aim to help users better understand their surroundings and access useful information while on the move. Potential applications include reading text, describing surroundings and answering questions about what the camera sees. Our ambition is to help people navigate everyday situations with greater confidence, independence and freedom.

To advance these capabilities, we are receiving development support from Google. This support helps us explore how AI can be applied to real time on multiple devices. Our goal is to combine compact, easy-to-use hardware with intelligent software that provides practical assistance when it matters most.

One technology, a wider impact

The conversation with Thomas van Zijl was a great opportunity to share both the progress we have made and the direction in which we are heading.

From professional safety and field support to consumer applications and accessibility, our vision remains the same: technology should not only help document what happens, but also help people when they need it.

We would like to thank Thomas van Zijl and BNR Zakendoen for the engaging conversation and the opportunity to share the PhoneCam story.

If you want to listen the interview (in Dutch), follow the link to BNR

Bodyworn cameras like PhoneCam are becoming increasingly common across professional sectors such as private security, healthcare, maintenance, utilities, public transport and field services. Organizations deploy them to improve employee safety, document incidents and increase accountability.

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