The announcement of the release of Microsoft’s SenseCam commercial product has been making the rounds over the past week, to general acclaim and interest.
The notion of a time-lapse camera worn around the neck is an intriguing one on a number of fronts. Devised originally as a means of recall for Alzheimer’s patients, it appears to be getting far more traction as a lifelogging tool.
From Fresh Creation:
A simple idea but kinda amazing when you think of the potential: it could record your entire life.
New Scientist, in an article on lifelogging, has this to say:
It has been said before that an era of lifelogging, in which people will record and broadcast their daily lives, is on the way. But this time it might happen – people are already capturing many things about their lives and sharing them via social networking sites. The launch of the new camera and new research from Microsoft suggest people are ready to take the final step
Fair enough.
From another perspective, SenseCam opens up intriguing new possibilities for mapping/viewing of public and private spaces: think ‘good enough’ technology (as described wonderfully here by Robert Capps in Wired) in combination with Google’s Street Mapping vehicles.
Obviously, there exist innumerable means of utilizing technology of this sort – perhaps I’ll log my bike commute via SenseCam, at some point. Yet another tool that helps shape how we view the world around us. Where would you take it?
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