Autobrinification: Microsoft Gadget Keeps Record of Your Life

[R. A. Hettinga]

<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040304/microsoft_visual_diary_3.html>

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Associated Press
Microsoft Gadget Keeps Record of Your Life
Thursday March 4, 8:51 pm ET
By Allison Linn, AP Business Writer

Microsoft's SenseCam Can Be Worn Around Your Neck and Take 2,000 Images

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) -- SenseCam, touted as a visual diary of sorts by
Microsoft Corp., is designed to be worn around the neck and take up to
2,000 images a 12-hour day automatically.

The prototype responds to changes such as bright lights and sudden
movements and might one day even respond to other stimuli such as heart
rate or skin temperature -- to track medical problems as easily as to
record a Hawaiian vacation. And it could eventually link with other
technology, such as face recognition to remind wearers when they've seen
someone before.

As Lyndsay Williams trudged along snow-covered paths and passed by shop
windows one recent day in Cambridge, England, so too did her SenseCam --
automatically snapping hundreds of photos along the way.

Later that day, Williams could have used those pictures to figure out where
she'd left her car keys, or to show a friend the sweater she saw in a
window.

Perhaps weeks or months later, she might have zipped through them to figure
out when she last saw a particular colleague or what bottle of wine she had
been drinking that night.

Williams and other Microsoft researchers are showcasing dozens of
futuristic gadgets and projects to company employees and journalists. The
annual TechFest is hosted by Microsoft Research, a unit that delves into
everything from super-technical programming applications to tools for
developing HIV vaccines.

Though Microsoft Research works on security and other issues deemed
important today, its head, Rick Rashid, said researchers also try to
anticipate what Microsoft developers will want in several years. Some
projects never make it into a for-profit product.

But many do, including the TabletPC and a smart watch that gets news and
other information from a service called MSN Direct.

Other technologies could soon be available to the public.

Microsoft is looking to license technology for identification cards touted
as forge-proof because they combine a regular picture ID with a box that
includes a compressed facial image.

Another project converts a regular webcam image into low-resolution
animation -- stripped of everything but the eyes, lips, nose and eyebrows.
It's easier to transmit than full video and can be used with instant
messaging to convey emotion and nuance.

Rashid, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University before joining
Microsoft, is already thinking ahead. One item he has in mind: an alarm
clock that figures out when to wake you based on current traffic conditions.

http://research.microsoft.com



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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
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