About the Axon Body 3

Axon Body 3 (AB3) was launched in 2019, and marked a turning point in body-worn camera technology. The AB3 was Axon’s first body-worn camera to feature live-streaming capabilities, allowing command staff and dispatchers to watch calls for service and provide support and backup in real time.

AB3 took our product suite to another level with the integration of LTE” shared Nate Patulski, Senior Industrial Designer at Axon. “Not only was our device a body camera, but also had the ability to be a communications device that could share information between officers and commanding personnel.

The AB3 also featured enhanced low-light performance and reduced motion blur in addition to live-streaming capabilities.

Bringing the product to market was a huge technology and design challenge. “Well, arguably every aspect of AB3 development was new and presented some challenges” recalled Nate. “First and foremost was the LTE integration as previously mentioned...This aspect really drove the mechanical architecture and was the reason that certain components were isolated from a risk mitigation perspective.”

Despite the complexity of the design challenge, the team’s goal for the camera was relatively simple. “AB3 really aimed to create a tool they [officers] couldn’t do their jobs without.”

Design you can't live without

When the team sat down to design the AB3, “step 1 was to figure out how the integration of LTE was going to affect the design...the reality was that we couldn’t design much of anything until we understood how the LTE requirements were going to drive the hardware architecture.”

“Turns out that this was a major hurdle” Nate continued. “We had several RF [radio frequency] firms bow-out due to technical challenges and constraints.” Once the team figured out these constraints, it gave them an interesting challenge. They had an extremely defined box in which to work out a design. Still, the team wanted to stretch the bounds within that box.

“We wanted to create a design with high-end appeal, a rugged and tactical look. Nate shared. But it was important that the product was also approachable. After all, officers spend the majority of their day interacting with community members. The team didn’t want the hardware they were outfitting officers with to be foreboding.

In the end, the team succeeded. For Nate, it was fulfilling to bring a product to market where “almost every aspect of the design was new – it was a completely new product with new features that we had never done before. We delivered a highly functional device within a relatively short time.”

The impact of body-worn technology

So, what does Nate think is next for the world of body-worn cameras?

“I think we live in a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to be a law enforcement official. There are a broad range of challenges that an officer can and will face every day, many of which require making decisions that put themselves and others at risk. Having the ability to record each officer’s interactions reduces liability, promotes the truth, can deter conflict from even happening, and can be an excellent training tool.

Camera technology will continue to evolve to produce image sensors that are smaller and can produce higher quality, higher resolutions images.

Axon has evolved since the launch of the AB3. Earlier this year, Axon Body 4, the next-generation body-worn camera with bi-directional communication capabilities and an optional POV accessory began shipping to customers. Although the technology continues to improve, one thing remains constant: the team’s desire and ability to create rugged, tactical, hardware that officers don’t want to do their job without.

See the Axon Body 3 in person

From now until September 2, 2024, the AB3 is on display as part of ‘Acquired! Shaping the National Design Collection’ at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, NY. “It is a pretty cool feeling and sense of accomplishment” for Nate to know a product he worked so hard on, that had so many design hurdles, is being recognized for it’s ultimate success. “It took an entire team of talented people to design AB3, and it’s a great sense of pride to be part of that team.”

Jason Hartford, former SVP of Connected Devices at Axon, was similarly thrilled to hear the news that the Axon Body 3 would be on display at the Smithsonian Design Museum. "We are honored that the Axon Body 3 is being recognized for its iconic industrial design — this design reflects the essence of the product’s mission to Protect Life, Preserve Truth and Accelerate Justice."

‘Acquired! Shaping the National Design Collection’ is on display at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, NY, now through September 2, 2024. The exhibition is ticketed, tickets can be obtained at secure.cooperhewitt.org/events