Samsara has introduced a 360-degree AI camera and a companion equipment offering aimed at machines that typically run with no camera coverage at all: the open-cab excavators, forklifts and other ground equipment used on construction sites, in warehouses, mines and airports.
The company said the Samsara 360 Camera uses a dual-fisheye lens to capture a full surround view from a single mounting point, and that it works alongside Samsara Equipment, which brings equipment monitoring onto the same platform Samsara already sells for road fleets.
Designed for machines without a windshield
David Gal, vice president of product and engineering at Samsara, said frontline workers operating forklifts, excavators and ground equipment do some of the riskiest work in physical operations, on machines with open cabs, no windshield, no roof and hazards on every side. He said the camera was built to work in those conditions and to see all the way around the operator, so customers can protect frontline workers on the warehouse floor, the job site and the ramp in the same way they do on the road.
Samsara argues that the absence of ground-level footage has practical consequences: incident investigations stall, liability is disputed, and the same unsafe behaviours can repeat. The camera is intended to close that gap by putting equipment on the same footing as vehicles.
One mount instead of four
Conventional 360-degree systems for equipment generally require four cameras, four mounts and a separate recorder, according to Samsara. The company says its unit captures the full view from one mount point and lets managers pan and zoom through any recorded event to review it from every angle. It installs in the same manner as a Samsara dash cam and is built to withstand harsh weather and rough operating conditions.
What the AI flags
- Risk detection: AI detections flag mobile phone use, camera obstruction, seat and lap belt use, and harsh impacts, trained on how equipment is actually operated rather than on road-vehicle behaviour alone.
- Risk patterns: managers can see which operators, sites and equipment types show repeat risky behaviour. When an impact occurs, video is pulled automatically into the Samsara Safety Inbox, so investigations can close on evidence instead of competing accounts.
- Coaching and compliance: managers coach operators using their own footage, enforce zero-tolerance mobile phone policies and speed up OSHA investigations without adding headcount. Timestamped footage also supports insurance claims and helps establish or clear liability.
Equipment data on the fleet platform
On the operational side, Samsara for Equipment combines with the camera so teams can see how long each forklift or excavator sits idling, schedule preventive maintenance on actual engine hours instead of the calendar, and check how many forklifts really run at peak before buying more. Samsara agents work with the equipment out of the box, so a fault code can open a work order automatically, and every vehicle, machine and operator sits on one platform rather than in a separate OEM portal per brand.
Samsara did not disclose pricing, availability dates or independent validation of detection accuracy. The safety, investigation and maintenance outcomes described are the capabilities the company attributes to the product, not measured results.