Shoulder-mounted camera tracks hand movements
British scientists test a system that permits a single police officer to survey and photograph a crime scene by pointing; objects are mapped auutomatically for later investigation
Here is a technology that should satisfy the police officers, computer geeks, and housewives alike. Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a shoulder-mounted camera that New Scientist reports “automatically tracks head movements and can recognise hand gestures.” Controlled wirelessly via a laptop computer, the system allows the wearer to direct the camera by pointing — a key advantage for law enforcement personnel who need a quick way of accumulating photographic evidence at a crime scene. “A wearable camera can remove the need to explicitly report what you are doing,” says Birmingham University’s Chris Baber. Instead, three seperate motors — themelves coupled to inertia sensors to manage the person’s body movements — do all the work. Well, almost all the work. The entire system is controlled by a laptop computer, which tracks objects and maps their position for later investigation. The system also has domestic applications. If the computer sees that the wearer is using their hands for cooking, for instance, it might reroute incoming telephone calls to the answering service.
