Slashdot Mirror
New System to Counter Photo and Video Devices
Incongruity writes "News.com is reporting that a team from Georgia Tech has developed and demoed a system that actively searches for and effectively blinds cameras and camcorders within a 10 meter radius." From the article: "In this system, a device bathes the region in front of it with infrared light. When an intense retroreflection indicates the presence of a digital camera lens, the device then fires a localized beam of light directly at that point. Thus, the picture gets washed out."
... and detecting the magnesium flouride that is often used an an antireflective coating on lenses.
Most eyeglasses have antireflective coatings these days too, I imagine that such a technology would blind anyone with glasses within its range.
I don't claim to have the faintest idea of how this works, but according to the article and video, it just create a pretty-looking low-light strobe which throws off the camera's auto-exposure equipment.
My guess is that to the average eye (or one with glasses) it will just look like a cheap spaceship prop.
-David
Great, shine blinding lights at everybody wearing glasses. That's a wonderful idea.
Hopefully this anti-camera stuff never takes off, or camera manufacturers find a way to circumvent it.