Wearable Automatic Camera Takes Pictures Every 30 Seconds

Article written by guest writer Kecia Lynn

What’s the Latest Development?

Memoto, a startup company based in Sweden, has created a 5-megapixel camera the size of a large postage stamp that can be worn on the lapel of a jacket. This camera, which also contains a GPS receiver, automatically takes a picture every 30 seconds. The pictures can then be uploaded to a computer via USB “and from there to the cloud, where they can be viewed in a timeline via a mobile app for Android or iOS.” The company, which has received funding from at least one venture capital firm, has launched a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of raising more money to bring the device to market.

What’s the Big Idea?

While it may have some appeal to those who post life-logging videos on YouTube, for people involved in surveillance — offficial or unofficial — the camera may prove to be quite useful. Memoto co-founder Oskar Kalmaru says that when he showed the camera to a guard on a train, “[h]e was very excited about it. ‘I need one of these for work, to take pictures of passengers who don’t pay,’ he said.” With regards to privacy, the photos are not harvested by Memoto, and they are only made public if the user chooses to do so. The camera comes in colors that make them obvious; according to Kalmaru, “We did not want to make a spy camera.”

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