January 26, 2005
HP focuses on paparazzi-proof cameras
This is wild. News.com reports on new technology that could scramble the camera function of a cell phone, making the image appear blurry.
"The good news is you can keep the camera in your cell phone. The bad news is anyone who wants to can turn it off."
At least that's the way it might work if technology described by Hewlett-Packard makes it to market. A recent patent application from the computing giant describes a system in which digital cameras would be equipped with circuits that could be remotely triggered to blur the face in any images captured by the camera.
U.S. patent application 20040202382, filed in April 2003 and published in October 2004, describes a system in which an image captured by a camera could be automatically modified based on commands sent by a remote device.
In short, anyone who doesn't want their photo taken at a particular time could hit a clicker to ensure that any cameras or camera-equipped gadgets in range got only a fuzzy outline of their face"
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