Are you still looking for a suitable webcam for your home office? Then we have something for you: A developer has now introduced a webcam that looks like an eye. And the eye watches you all the time.
A developer team has created a webcam that is modeled after the human eye. The special thing about the webcam is that it not only looks like a human eye but also acts like a real eye:
- The webcam blinks regularly, and the eyelids adjust to the movements of the eyeball.
- The eye can autonomously respond to specific movements and stimuli. If a user sits directly in front of the eye, it reacts to the user.
- The webcam can move and express emotions such as happiness, boredom, fatigue, and anger.
Who developed this webcam? Behind the “Eyecam” is a German development team from Saarland. Marc Teyssier, along with other colleagues at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab of Saarland University, developed the “Eyecam”.
Why is this creepy? The developer himself describes the camera as “eerie, unusual, quirky.” The eye watches you curiously and attentively as soon as you sit down at the desk and blinks regularly. The sensors inside the eye are designed to follow every movement. So, you get the feeling as if a real human eye is observing you and perceiving and reacting to every one of your movements.
Developer wants to provoke thought with quirky webcam
Why was such a camera developed? The developer team wants to provoke thought among people. Nowadays, everyone is surrounded by cameras or so-called smart devices. These are devices that accompany us everywhere in our daily lives. This includes devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home. However, these have become almost invisible to most users due to their design. Teyssier explains this on his own website (via marcteyssier.com)
Here, the aim is to stimulate the discussion on how transparent such devices should be for users. Should devices in the future remain hidden and observe us, or should aesthetics perhaps go in a different direction?
Who could benefit from such a webcam? Especially during the Corona pandemic, many people sit behind a desk and look at their webcams. This can be uncomfortable for many as they directly look into the camera. The “Eyecam” could make it easier for users because they can look directly into a human eye.
By the way, you can watch how this webcam works and observes the user in the official YouTube video. It looks quite disturbingly realistic.
The webcam is not for sale, but anyone can build one
Can you buy the webcam? No, the inventor had already explained that it is a design object that is not for sale. The intention is to provoke thought and there was no intention of selling it.
However, if you are still interested, you can also build an “Eyecam” yourself: The plans are “Open Source” and available to everyone. The components cost around 25 US dollars, according to the developer.
With a bit of skill, you can also recreate the webcam yourself. A video tutorial is also reportedly in preparation. So nothing will stand in your way of making such a webcam soon.
What do you think? Would you be interested in such a webcam or would you feel like you were being watched the whole time? Or would you rather have your technology be invisible?
If you’re looking for more crazy ideas about what technology you can make yourself: These VR gloves you can make yourself cost only 19 euros. MyMMO explains what is so special about the gloves and how the developer can even play Half-Life: Alyx with them.
