This webcam dares to ask: what if the panopticon had flesh?

Many digital eyes and ears are on us as we move about our daily lives. Surveillance cameras watch us on the street and smart devices listen for us in our homes. What if some of that watching happened through an expressive simulacrum of a human eye?

Researcher Marc Teyssier took it upon himself to craft such a device, giving a webcam synthetic flesh and a moving eyeball, complete with brow and lashes. Observe: the Eyecam.

You can see it in action – blinking, glancing, emoting – in the video below, which also commands us to use our imaginations:

Imagine Eyecam waking up on its own.

Imagine Eyecam observing every one of your steps.

Imagine Eyecam always being there ...

... even when...

Continue reading…