HP Experiments with 'Always On' Camera 288
An anonymous reader writes "Hewlett-Packard researchers in the U.K. are working on a camera that's always on, recording everything you see and letting you go back later and decide what's actually photo-worthy. Raises some serious privacy questions. But as an HP researcher notes, "If your wearable camera is always on ... you're not going to miss any moments, but you're also going to get a load of junk.""
Load of junk (Score:5, Funny)
"...but you're also going to get a load of junk"
If by "a load of junk" you mean "a lot of pictures of people pointing at your goofy-looking glasses and laughing," then you're absolutely right.
Predicted even before the transistor was invented (Score:5, Informative)
Interestingly, in the same article, he predicted the CD Rom, the Internet, Wikipedia, Color Photography -- well before the first dry cameras or the first computers.
Re:Predicted even before the transistor was invent (Score:5, Interesting)
This connection makes it wonderfully poetic to see this invention coming from HP.
Same article predicted the Calculator and the Borg (Score:3, Informative)
NOT Predicted before the transistor was invented (Score:2, Insightful)
The cord which trips its shutter may reach down a man's sleeve within easy reach of his fingers. A quick squeeze, and the picture is taken. On a pair of ordinary glasses is a square of fine lines near the top of one lens, where it is out of the way of ordinary vision. When an object appears in that square, it is lined up for its picture. As the scientist of the future moves about the laboratory or the field, every time he looks at something wort
Re:Predicted even before the transistor was invent (Score:3, Insightful)
Color photography was invented in 1850 [enc.org] by Levi Hill. Commercial color prints first appeared in 1903 with the Autochrome process. Kodachrome was widely available in 1945 when Bush wrote that article.
The Mathematical Limit (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Load of junk (Score:5, Funny)
I think by "load of junk" they mean it's a Compaq/HP product.
junk eh? (Score:4, Funny)
wow I guess they're right... most of my life is a load of junk.
But what if you gave this camera to those guys on the MountainDew or Surge commercials who only do exciting things constantly?
Re:junk eh? (Score:2, Funny)
Then there'd be a lot of takes, and finally some geek hacking some cool effects to make us believe they actually succeeded in doing those exciting things
Big News Today (Score:3, Funny)
Ride the snake
And the question is... (Score:2)
Re:Big News Today (Score:5, Insightful)
Stranger things have happened. I still can't see why webcams are popular.
Bceause they make phone sex so much more interesting.
Re:Big News Today (Score:3, Funny)
You'll need to buy at least two, so you can film yourself with the second camera while you edit the footage from the first one or change its batteries/flash card. You wouldn't want to miss any potentially riveting moments.
Re: HP Experiments with 'Always On' Camera (Score:3, Insightful)
*sigh... life's tough
Battery Life? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Battery Life? (Score:4, Funny)
Can you say... (Score:3, Funny)
similar thing posted already (Score:4, Informative)
Sounds alot like the Microsoft Wearable camera [slashdot.org]. anyways i think its a cool idea. Sometimes i dont feel like taking pictures manually and maybe it will get more 'real life' photos instead of having everyone poised for them.
Re:similar thing posted already (Score:2)
It's probably taking pictures at a max of 640x480 considering the frequency of the pictures and the continuous nature of the camera. Those pictures would be a nice backup for a real camera but not a very good replacement.
Then again, it would be great if you happen to witness a crime or car accident which didn't take place in your peripheral vision.
Re:similar thing posted already (Score:2)
> Then again, it would be great if you happen to witness a crime or car accident which didn't take place in your peripheral vision.
Last thing I saw on Slashdot.org/683703/live was a car crash, the cops showing up, and a club. Then things went blank. You'll have to take my word for it, because that page is 404 today. Don't know why.
Hang on, there's someone at my door. I'll be right back.
Re:similar thing posted already (Score:3, Insightful)
I would say that, in about a year, there are approximately 10 minutes worth even recording. Why would I want to wear a stupid camera and deal with it being confiscated or the video later being used against me if I'm raided before being a
Re:similar thing posted already (Score:3, Interesting)
More like you're wearing a TiVo that retains the last 30 minutes of what you've seen and after you've seen something interesting, you capture it and put it in a kept recording.
For parents, it would be like having Ender Wiggins' monitor on your children.
Re:similar thing posted already (Score:5, Insightful)
not at all. that's where THEIR camera comes in useful.
What? No. (Score:2)
Re:What? No. (Score:2)
slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
Great... (Score:4, Funny)
On the serious side, this is, in my opinion, the resolution of a problem that doesn't exist. It's very cool, it just isn't a very needed product.
Jamon
Muder in the DC area... (Score:4, Funny)
TW
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
I already have these (Score:4, Funny)
Already invented. (Score:2)
Re:Already invented. (Score:2)
The Truman Show for EVERYONE! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The Truman Show for EVERYONE! (Score:2)
Privacy Issues? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is it just me, or is the paranoia level going up these days...
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:5, Informative)
It isn't YOUR privacy that they are worried about. How about all of the people around you that are now being "photographed" on a regular basis. My wife HATES having her picture taken. Now anyone wearing glasses might be taking her picture 20 times a second. At least if they go to pull the camera out she has a chance to say "No thank you - I prefer not to have my picture taken".
I'm not even going to go into all of the places that you shouldn't be taking pictures anyway (locker rooms, gyms, dr. office, the list goes on)
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:5, Funny)
I think you just...um.... did.
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:2)
And what does that have to do with whether the camera is "always on" or not?
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:4, Insightful)
That said I think that we should limit the distribution of the pictures taken and not the taking of them in the first place.
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:3, Interesting)
I think that should be, "no one will knowingly be allowed in". Once these cameras are small enough to be undetectable, things are going to get very interesting...
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:3, Flamebait)
Unless your wife is some kind of Montana rancher--like, she has a job, or she goes shopping, or does anything whatsoever involving stepping onto the property of some corporation, she's probably being already being photographed on a regular basis by surveillance cameras without even knowing it. The only difference is that now everyone can do it, not just businesses. IMHO, that's a very good thing.
PUBLIC places - Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:3, Interesting)
To which I can say "Sure, whatever *click* *click* *click*." If your wife is that offended by having her picture taken she shouldn't go out in public, because there isn't, and shouldn't be, a damned thing she can do about somebody taking her picture. Well, I guess with the obvious restriction of harrasment/stalking, but we aren't talking somebody following her around all day taking
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:3, Funny)
I know how you feel. I'm still holding off having wild monkey sex with the two 19 year-old, willing nubile females that work at the local corner store. They might have hidden cameras in their apartment, and I can't find the right combination of Wi-Fi jammer/magnetic HDD wiper hardware.
The current plan is to gain access to their computer surreptitiously (by installing a wipe-out command via a USB memory plug-in keychain device whil
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:2)
In many places, wiretapping law requires that if you are recording a conversation, all parties involved must be informed in advance of the recording. Despite the name, this applies to recordings of a
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:2)
No. Unauthorized recording is in and of itself a crime.
Look at the 'undercover reports' that TV shows do on insurance fraud--those people are filmed by civilians without informing all parties.
The US is about evenly split between jurisdictions that require at least one party involved to give consent, and ones that require all parties involved to gi
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:5, Interesting)
That's precisely the problem. I don't know about the quality of the photos this camera can produce. I'm thinking the resolution will be lower than what you could achieve with a regular digital camera due to the automated nature of the camera and its limited storage space, but that's irrelevent. The fact is, a photo can be taken of a person without that person's consent or knowledge.
There are a lot of girl-watching hobbyists out there who have been aided by digital cameras and camera-cell phone combos. Some upload the images to newsgroups or to commercial sites catering in upskirt candids. I've had my photo taken by complete strangers on the streets, the beach, and in nightclubs. I personally don't mind some guy "enjoying" a photo of me in the privacy of his own home, but it's reasonable that other women would have a problem. My privacy concerns are with the photo being uploaded to a public site without my knowledge or permission, especially if said site had a sexual or voyeuristic tone. My biggest privacy concern however is with abuses of the technology by law enforcement agencies and the government, or just nosy neighbors who enjoy spying on others. There is also the possibility that the photographer has a more nefarious scheme; that I'm intended to be more than a pretty face and nice legs for one's personal candid delight. The point is, I'd have no idea what the photographer's intentions were, nor would I even know I was being filmed or spied on.
Re:Privacy Issues? (Score:2, Funny)
Photo-Worthy? (Score:5, Insightful)
And yes, you can pry my mechanical Yashica and my black and white films from my cold, dead fingers...
Who wants to see 100,000 pictures of slashdot? (Score:2, Funny)
Jamon
Wow. Are we that sad? (Score:2, Insightful)
I know what the girls will say... (Score:2, Funny)
dont have to keep loads of junk (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:dont have to keep loads of junk (Score:5, Funny)
Re:dont have to keep loads of junk (Score:2, Insightful)
Wait a second, I think I've heard that before... in the article. Where they said they've already implented a "That's Interesting" button. It keeps the last, what was it, 30 or so minutes in short-term memory, and if you press the button, it commits it to a more permament storage.
Seriously, though, with the way storage is getting larger and larger for cheaper and cheaper, it shouldn't be long before marking as something only marks it so it stands out, and everything stays recorded,
Re:dont have to keep loads of junk (Score:3, Interesting)
They could even put these things in taxis and police cars! Yeah, this is a pretty cool idea...!
Re:Mate with an inertia switch (Score:2)
It should be!
I'm sorry, I was just kidding.
LK
Dumbest April Fool's Joke yet! (Score:2, Insightful)
Combine this with an RFID tag... (Score:2)
Boy, there would be some shocked fathers out there if they witnessed in close, excruciating detail what their daughters did to/for me in high school.
Neal Stepehenson (Score:2)
David Brin (Score:3, Informative)
Two tangential comments:
Perhaps the glasses could monitor the
wearer's brain activity and only store a
frame when it detects a strong reaction to
what's being viewed.
There was a public outcry when photography
was invented, when Goerge Eastman marketed
it to the public, when X-rays were discovered,
etc. The uproar over these is nothing new.
Primitive (Score:2)
Seriously though, this is a classic case of a problem in search of a solution. I wouldn't be too hard on researchers who go down strange alleys like this, you never know where it could lead. I'd say the military would find good use for it.
D'oh! (Score:2)
Re:D'oh! (Score:2)
Or a 'solution in search of a patent'
Social considerations (Score:5, Insightful)
Though the article mentions privacy concerns, it is stuff away between a half-dozen other headings. All technology is nothing more than tools. It is the context that gives the tool its meaning. And in this case, the social context of the tool should very much be weighed against the abilitity to "never miss an important moment." Who defines important? And who defines what *should* be recorded, and what should not be recorded? The social implications of all technology deserve more consideration than they currently recieve, I think.
Re:Social considerations (Score:2)
This would be excellent to have on hand for law enforcement, search and rescue / fire departments, even soldiers.
In these cases, the information (either stored or relayed) about individuals in publicly accountable roles assists in the enforcement of the trust engendered by the position. It could also increase safety, allow sharing of
Its gonna happen (Score:3, Interesting)
practical use (Score:2, Funny)
Star Trek (Score:2, Interesting)
Imagine what you could do with that kind of snooping power.
stick a "shutter button" on it (Score:2, Interesting)
private eyes (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:private eyes (Score:2)
Walk in to a department store dressing room in the lingere section, "accidentally" open the door to an occupied stall. "Oops, sorry!", and you've got a few more pictures for you
Re:private eyes (Score:2)
Done. (Score:2)
http://www.wearcam.org/
Steve Mann is a nerd God.
Is it just me... (Score:2)
1. Taking pictures of live action, in which case they should be using a video medium (read: DV)
2. Taking pictures of things that don't move too much (read: Geographic or structural objects, or people that are actively participating in being photographed, posing, etc.)
3. Porn (which I imagine requires much more equipment, lighting, people, etc.)
In these three ca
Not a new idea: Deja View (Score:5, Informative)
Deja View's Camwear Model 100 captures everything you see, records it in a buffer so you never miss that moment! Simply press the record button and the last 30 seconds of video with audio will write to a removable storage device.
The Deja View Camwear Model 100 easily clips to your glasses or hat is constantly buffering 30 seconds of what you experience while wearing our product. With one simple press of a button, the camera will record a 30 second video with audio in 320X240 CIF in the latest MPEG-4 technology! The file is saved to a SD Memory card (64MB provided) upgradeable to 512MB (optional). The file is easily stored and transferred to a computer or when played in Video out mode, can be recorded directly through a VCR or viewed right on your TV screen! USB connection for computer or remove SD memory card and view it in an SD reader (not included).
Well... if it worked like a Tivo (Score:2)
Otherwise, the camera keeps recording over the past recorded data.
I always hate when something odd/funny happens and I don't think to take a picture right away. But somehow I think that this "always on" camera is going to be taking a lot of horrible shots.
-S
Transparency (Score:3, Insightful)
Alternative? (Score:2, Redundant)
Have two additional modes: Full time record (For constant recording beyone 1 minute) and snapshot (still images). that way you'll always have your camera readt to take a picture or video at a moment's notice, and won't have to go back and find what you really want to keep.
=Smidge=
Urgh (Score:2)
My God, does this sort of thing really have to be stuffed in everywhere? Technology has nothing to do with privacy - it is it's use.
A comment like this has no more place here than saying "oh yeah, eyes? and memory? serious privacy concerns there".
Camera Picture Latency. (Score:2)
If I'm not mistaken, most digital cameras have a series of sensors arranged in a trinary pattern of reds, greens and blues. Each "dot", can only sense sensitivity towards that color of light.
When a digital camera takes a picture, it takes those reds, greens, and blues, and then interpolates the values from the surrounding
Inadequate answer to the privacy problem (Score:2)
Their idea of warning those being recorded is to put a red light on it?
Seriously - it would take all of two seconds to break the antenna and smash the light... now give it to a hacker and you'll get a more elegant solution almost as quickly.
Right to Photograph (Score:5, Informative)
Basically, if you're in a public area you can't stop someone from photographing you (though you could ask not to be) nor can anyone stop you from taking pictures in public areas. This includes buildings and "people/street watching"
Moving Frame. (Score:3, Interesting)
I guess this not only will save a lot on media costs, it won't raise so many security concerns (all data records are opt-in, not opt-out, only unlike with normal camera - with ability to record what happened already, not only what is going to happen.
Think 1000 lines long shell scrollback.
You, sir, (Score:3)
TiVo doesn't just record everything; it keeps a sliding buffer. Same should apply here. In fact, just after I got mine, I thought how useful it would be for something like this to be mounted in one's car (kinda like those the cops have in many "wildest police videos gone wild" clips) -- you could automatically get the plate number of some jerk who hits and runs; you could prove you were not at fault in an accident; and so on.
As for wearing an odd pair of glasses to get the
badge cameras (Score:3, Interesting)
Recognition (Score:3, Interesting)
I predict that if this becomes popular, peer to peer networks will pop up which will allow me to register my friends so they can see any pictures that include them. Very neat!
I also predict there's gonna be a shortage of tinfoil hats and face masks in the near future....
Could be made to work if... (Score:3, Interesting)
This would work if you had a trigger to mark "on the spot" ranges that are interesting. That way when you get home you won't have to search weeks of non-events to find a cool shot.. Sort a "that was funny" button, or perhaps more appropriately for
It's been done (Score:3, Interesting)
An episode of PBS's Scientific American Frontiers back in April of last year featured an MIT Media Lab student named Brian Clarkson who built this exact same thing himself. He wore it like a backpack with fisheye lens cameras on the front and back. One of the more interesting things he was able to capture and re-watch was the first time he met his then current girlfriend.
You can watch the episode online [pbs.org].
(The part featuring Clarkson is titled "Never Forget a Face")
Possible Uses in Law Enforcement (Score:3, Insightful)
If a police officer had a device like this when conducting an arrest or a stop the device would be beneficial for everyone involved:
1) If Officer does anything illegal the defendant has proof
2) If the defendant says something or does anything, the police now have proof.
In this context the only person with cause to worry is the individual doing something illegal (either police officer of member of public).
How is this different from a camcorder!? (Score:2, Insightful)
Load of junk, eh? (Score:2)
always on camera = camcorder (Score:2, Insightful)
Hurray for me...i officially added nothing to this discussion
TV Ad Campaign (Score:2)
16MB Memory Modules: $1000
Irony: Priceless
1973 precedent (Score:5, Interesting)
Ah, memories... (Score:3, Funny)
bathroom breaks... (Score:5, Funny)
isn't this already invented and use right now? (Score:3, Insightful)
the only thing limiting to what you can capture is the tape and battery.
you use a camera for capturing a still moment. you use a video camera for capturing an entire event.
Re:How is that even possible? (Score:2)
Re:Nest Idea (Score:3, Insightful)
Then again, if I'd worn a camera like this that day... I don't think the next six years would have happened the same way. So in reality you probably would get junk and junk only, because for those moments that a