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Filmmaker Working On Eye-Socket Camera
An anonymous reader writes "Wired has a story about Rob Spence, a Canadian filmmaker who plans to have a mini camera installed in his prosthetic eye. 'A camera module will have to be connected to a transmitter inside the prosthetic eye that can broadcast the captured video footage. To boost the signal, he says he can wear another transmitter on his belt. A receiver attached to a hard drive in a backpack could capture that information and then send it to another device that uploads everything to a web site in real time. ... Even though his project is still in its early stages, Spence says many people have already told him they wouldn't be comfortable being filmed. "People are more scared of a center-left documentary maker with an eye than the 400 ways they are filmed every day at the school, the subway, the mall," he says. He hopes he will help get people thinking about privacy, how surveillance cameras and the footage they record are being used and accessed.'"
Spence runs a blog for the 'Eyeborg Project,' as he calls it, and has recently posted a video about the progress they're making.
I always believed that 20 years from now, technology will allow us to keep a constant record of all that we see. It will be great for keeping memories of the kids, sure. It will also completely change the way we interact. The most fascinating part of this future is that very strong ethical, privacy and legal limits will have to be put in place.
Think of the switch from analog audio to digital. With analog, you could record, but you couldn't store forever without losing quality. Stuff eventually got lost, or forgotten. It's a different ball-game when information stays around forever, easily accessible. Google Search taught us as much.
Bottom line: there is no technological answer to this, it will have to come from principles and laws. Anyone can steal mail from my mailbox, there is no lock. But people don't. Let's see how we can create similar principles for digital information.
I guess this will get him banned from movie theaters, right ?
Absolute statements are never true
He's upgrading.
http://CryoLANparty.com/ A lan I'm staff on!
been there done that
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosthetics_in_fiction
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I record everything I see.
The only difference is that I use an organic data storage device.
Imagine the possibilities for this sort of technology... in porn.
Anybody want my mod points?
Dear Rob, maybe people feel uncomfortable because your eye gives a red glow and you keep telling them "See you later!" in Spanish with a heavy Austrian accent.
With low success of recovery and influenced to outside forces. The data is inherently corrupted and worthless.
captcha: fooled
You do not have a right to privacy in public. And I agree with this. Suggesting so erodes the idea of what privacy is about.
Example: I'm out with family at the beach and filming the event to preserve the memories. Suddenly a man approaches with a police officer and demands that my footage be destroyed because he was captured in the background. Should I have to hand over the content?
This does not apply to broadcasting the footage though, which does require approval from people captured on film.
Another interesting point is that he is suggesting cameras in malls and subways are a bad thing. And to highlight that... he wants to carry it one step further by filming everything and broadcast it. Interesting tactic.
are usually somewhere to the left of Fidel Castro.
I don't think the guy is thinking about Saccades
These are tiny, quick movements that the eye makes that keep "refreshing" our field of view.
Here's the explanation from Wikipedia:
Humans and other animals do not look at a scene in a steady way. Instead, the eyes move around, locating interesting parts of the scene and building up a mental 'map' corresponding to the scene. One reason for saccades of the human eye is that the central part of the retina, the fovea, plays a critical role in resolving objects. By moving the eye so that small parts of a scene can be sensed with greater resolution, body resources can be used more efficiently.
In addition, the human eye is in a constant state of vibration, oscillating back and forth at a rate of about 30-70 Hz. These microsaccades are tiny movements, roughly 20 arcseconds in excursion and are completely imperceptible under normal circumstances. They serve to refresh the image being cast onto the rod cells and cone cells at the back of the eye. Without microsaccades, staring fixedly at something would cause the vision to cease after a few seconds since rods and cones only respond to a change in luminance.
So while this happens naturally in all of our eyes, our brains compensate for it automatically and we don't notice anything is happening.
On video, though, this would probably make the video unwatchable and/or cause dizziness and nausea for anyone viewing it. It might be help in researching eye-movement patterns, though.
... now the MPAA can go after him when he goes into movie theaters...
But wouldn't he be required to beep? http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/26/1846209
What's his girlfriend look like?
So, if he captures a crime in progress, the criminals (if they recognize him) can hurl all sorts of puns his way:
Eye of the beholder
Socket too me
An eye for an eye...
See, if you had that camera in your ass or fannypack, hindsight would be 20/20
Depending on the focal length he uses, if he fixates on breasts, will he be a living boob tube? Titty-gazing could, like, oh my god... soooo tubular...
If he sees two rogue law enforcement officers beating on a civilian, he could sing "EYE SHOT THE SHERRIF, but EYE didn't SHOOT THE DEPUTY..."
There may be a new law: DCMA
"Don't Capture Me, Aye!" (especially since he's Canadian...)
If he sees a SUUUUUPER ugly person, they may crack his lens.
If they put smoke and mirrors in his path, he could be blinded with science.
If he's in a room with flash-bangs and smoke grenades, he'll be "bedazzled and frazzled"
If his good eye goes out, and he's broadsided, it could be said he was blind-sided...
Would he go crazy if swimming with fisheye lens goggles?
I suppose much of this assumes he as a neuro-optical data link.... and can process the imagery. Hopefully he won't be a cross between Geordi (super barrettes) La Forge and Saul (Demon Eyes) Tigh...
But, if he's visious, and lays eyes on you, you'd be caught in the eye of the tiger...
Yeh, i'm on a ROLL (but not a film roll)... LOL!
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
I caught this old Harvey Keitel flick on a Saturday afternoon ages ago: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081182/
Putting a radio transmitter right next to your brain!
So, if he captures a crime in progress,..
"I had to kill Bob Morton because he made a mistake..."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364343/
'Nuff said.
We have a code cyan ("life imitating art") in the prosthetics department.
"Steve Austin, a man barely alive ... we have the technology, we can rebuild him."
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
There may be a new law: DCMA
"Don't Capture Me, Aye!" (especially since he's Canadian...)
I think you mean the DMCE, eh. Unless he's French Canadian, then it's "Oeil, Don't Capture Me!"
This story has three icons attached to it, but not one of them is the "Bill Gates with Borg eye" one. C'mon, this was the perfect oppportunity to use that icon, and you blew it, slashdot!
... and then they built the supercollider.
The Japanese anime "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" dealt with "interceptors" which were in-eye cameras. This was back in 2002.
replay up peoples rears will be like shit hitting the fanny, like a "HOLE NEW FORM" for "analog", and the upshot of the imprint will a lot of uncomfortable negatives to dislodge.
It will have people tripping and reeling so much it'll take several genetic mutations to overcome the shift, and, then, we can all hail, "The anal log is the new ear drum".
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
A camera is a camera, the only difference is if it's considered a hidden camera. If you were trying to film people in public, then go for it, it's public. On the other hand, you try filming in my house without my consent, you're going to have a whole lot of trouble.
Well, yeah. That's because, at the mall, (1) it's a terrible picture, (2) there is no audio, (3) they have so much footage of everybody that nobody's going to find that shot of you with your finger up your nose, and (4) even if they do, they're not going to publish it because they want you to come BACK to the store, and don't want to get sued for big bucks for no good reason.
Contrast that with: (1) Maybe it's a really good picture. In any case, if you're talking to him, you're looking straight into the camera, and it's a close-up. (2) Maybe there's audio as well. Or maybe it's easy enough to read your lips, based on what he remembers about the conversation. (3) He can pick out the interesting (to him) footage, because he saw it all the first time. (4) If he's only a casual acquaintance, how well do I understand his motivations?
I don't know whether I personally prefer mall-surveillance or acquaintance-surveillance, but to assume that people who express a clear preference not to be surveilled by acquaintances don't "get it" shows an overarching hubris and lack of empathy that would make me hesitate to want to be near this guy, even if I would be OK with a different acquaintance videotaping me.
If I was going to wear a small hidden camera, I would attach it to the end of my index finger and transmit it to a set of glasses so I can see what it sees. Think of the uses.. 1. You can see around corners 2. Look up a gal's skirt 3. Read with your finger 4. Pick your nose and put it on youtube 5. film yourself sleeping 6. Experience Sign Language in a fresh way The possibilities are endless..
Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
Wow, this is a little spooky. Just saw the preview for next week's Dollhouse, and it looks like they'll be using something very similar to this...
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
It'll be easy to add colored filters or polarization or similar - just choose the appropriate pair of shades...
Could even use glasses with a built in display to add night vison for the other eye...
[All Your Fish Are Belong To Us]
Director, producer and writer Rolf de Heer sort of did this with sound using a a binaural headset.
The stereo focus of the sound recording moves with the actor's head, recording voice and breathing.
Now it can be done with sight.
http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/04/31/sound_design_rolf_de_heer.html
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
This seems like it would need a crazy amount of image stabilization. When an image is focused and static on the retina, it (fairly quickly) fades from perception. There are microscopic tremors that keep the eye jostling about and the picture 'refreshed'. I'm curious about how these impact the cameras ability to focus and keep a decent picture.
I wonder how this will impact his sexual life... might have a hard time convincing some partners... "I will keep my left eye shut, promised!"
Not for our new bionic overlord but for everyone he sees on an every day basis. Will he be forced to wear one of those full-body signs saying "I'm filming you as we speak" or does he just wink when someone wants to stay anonymous? There's no way he can ask anyone for the right to take their image w/o consent!?
If he is listening to the J. Geils Band's "Freeze Frame"...
Such an endowed person could scope out sex workers (of any persuasion) and then people observing his conquest could say, en Espan~nol "He, ho, layyyy"
But, then such a guy could reply, "Aye yaye yaye..."
As for the comment about the eye being able to move, i'd say that's not a real problem. It's the lack of adjacent muscle normality. If the eye swivels, maybe kids won't be shocked or unnerved. But, if the nutates like a gravity/anti-gravity-challenged orb with wonky GPS, well, then that would be a sight to not see...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
To up-skirting.
Some days I get the sinking feeling Orwell was an optimist.
Absolutely hilarious.
I'm rolling on the bed laughing. This is one of the funniest comments I've ever read.
How do we mod you +50 Funny?
Triple fail.
Not sure if this refers to his politics or the camera's vantage point.
Their they're doing there hair.
they are filmed every day
Now, first, dumb as a shoelace. Surveillance camera feeds are not posted on websites for everyone to see, no law allows that, at least in countries I'd be comfortable living in. In very many cases those feeds aren't een recorded. In some other cases the feeds are recorded for a specific amount of time (i.e. 24-48-... hours) and then automatically overwritten. There are - or at least legally should be - no places where every feed's recordings could be retained forever, or disclosed for the general public.
This guy should really get a girl with a beer and wake up.
many people have already told him they wouldn't be comfortable being filmed
As they should. If he won't go around with a large sign stating he's recording what he sees, he'll surel get some beating up at one point or the other in his formidable career.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
You've always believed this? Wait, how old are you? Right... you're at least older than 20, so then if you've always believed that 20 years from when you first started believing it that we'd have all have persistent video, then that would mean we already have it!? What are you hiding? What secret online store do I have to visit to get it? Do I gotta be a spook and have some security clearance, or be secretly enslaved to the CIA once I have it?
Which city do you live in?
TV shows will make great use of it... The ultimate of reality TV!
In 1973, D.G. Compton published an excellent sci-fi novel, The Unsleeping Eye or The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe, about a TV show in which a terminally ill woman will be filmed until her death. This will draw a huge audience in a world where almost all diseases can be cured. The woman runs away after signing the contract and a journalist with a camera implanted in his eye will arrange to locate her and, impersonating a compassionate lover, film the woman's agony without her being aware of it.
As good as the book was the 1980 movie, Death watch (La mort en direct) , directed by Bertrand Tavernier, with Romy Schneider and Harvey Keitel.
It's all fake! It's obvious, just look at 'em.
People are more scared of a center-left documentary maker with an eye than the 400 ways they are filmed every day at the school
And that's fairly rational, too: the privacy implications and usage of security cameras are much more predictable than those of a filmmaker running around with a bionic eye.
I suspect his wife will soon leave him. If she's anything at all like my wife, anyway. She hates nothing more than to be proven wrong about anything, and all too often she remembers things differently than the way they actually happened. To have a record of everything and be able to prove her wrong every time would make her want to murder me in my sleep.
Show me a security camera that editorializes, splices in out-of-context content, and chooses to show only the material that supports its position and then he might have a point.
You're not even remotely funny and you come off as a pedantic asshole.
This man must be found, and harassed by several wearers of Guy Fawkes masks. Also, Rick Roll'd. The internet will collapse on itself.
Hey Dude ... if you've got his funny remote then can't you just turn on his funny again?
Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
handmadehands.co.uk
Of course _this_ side of the pond fanny means something else entirely, and may provide for the epithet "looking up old friends".
Do I win a t-shirt?
Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
handmadehands.co.uk
...."I'll keep an eye out for you"
There are 2 groups of people you can make fun of on the Internet without fear of attack. The illiterate, and the Amish.