Micro-Camera Can Be Injected With A Syringe -- May Pose Surveillance Concerns (phys.org)

Taco Cowboy quotes a report from ABC Online: German engineers have created a camera no bigger than a grain of salt that could change the future of health imaging -- and clandestine surveillance. Using 3D printing, researchers from the University of Stuttgart built a three-lens camera, and fit it onto the end of an optical fiber the width of two hairs. Such technology could be used as minimally-intrusive endoscopes for exploring inside the human body, the engineers reported in the journal Nature Photonics. The compound lens of the camera is just 100 micrometers (0.1 millimeters) wide, and 120 micrometers with its casing. It could also be deployed in virtually invisible security monitors, or mini-robots with "autonomous vision." The compound lens can also be printed onto image sensor other than optical fibers, such as those used in digital cameras. The researchers said it only took a few hours to design, manufacture and test the camera, which yielded "high optical performances and tremendous compactness." They believe the 3D printing method -- used to create the camera -- may represent "a paradigm shift."

Comments

Re:Almost no surveillance concern at all, really

[OzPeter]

You're correct about the power and communications. Consider, however, the agent or pervert next door who uses this to spy on you.

And your point is? If the nefarious agent wants to spy on me he can already do that without me knowing about it, especially if he has state backed solutions to do things like install surveillance gear anywhere in and around my house, or even inject code into my laptop and watch the webcam to see what I am doing. And if he really wants to spy on me he has the budget to do so.

The pervert has less ability to access the internals of my house and or computer, but can still easily put up surveillance gear external to my house to see anything that is easily viewable, and again I won't know.

Also consider in what devices such a thing may be implanted.

OK .. into what? An orange? A book? A spider?