SenseCam Browser released

Whenever I talk about Total Recall, people ask: "won't you get swamped by all that data?" It’s a great question. If it takes automatic capture to get close to logging everything, it will also take automatic organization, and, even more importantly, automatic summarization to deal with the scale of one's lifelog. So, my Total Recall presentation isn't complete without showing off the great work by Aiden Doherty, Alan Smeaton and others from Dublin City University (DCU).

The DCU SenseCam browser takes the several thousand pictures that a SenseCam can generate in a day, and produces a daily diary. The idea is to look for novelty as a proxy for interestingness. Faces and clothing patches are recognized, and they ask: are these the same old faces, or new ones? Looking accelerometer values, and taking location from a separate GPS into account, they can also distinguish movements that are out of the ordinary. The end result shows snapshots of your day, with the pictures of more interesting events taking up more space. When you put your mouse over an event’s picture, a time-lapse style video plays of all the pictures from that event.

Now the DCU SenseCam browser is being made public. Check out the SenseCam browser site for source code and links to more information about the project. This first public release doesn’t include the image comparison, but they have actually found they can get within a few percent of the same answers without it. But this release is just the start as they’ve got the capability to add in much more functionality, such as event importance or visual event search ... stay tuned for more!

New York Times article on SenseCam

A Little Black Box to Jog Failing Memory, By YUDHIJIT BHATTACHARJEE, NYT, March 8, 2010.

A nice article on SenseCam with a focus on memory-loss applications.

Two years ago, Mr. Reznick, who has early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and is now 82, signed up for an experiment intended to help people with Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders. The concept was simple: using digital pictures and audio to archive an experience like a weekend visit from the grandchildren, creating a summary of the resulting content by picking crucial images, and reviewing them periodically to awaken and strengthen the memory of the event.

Fitbit wearable fitness logging

The FitBit is yet another entry in the wearable fitness category. It uses motion-sensing to keep track of calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled and even sleep quality. It is in the form of a little clip that you can put on your waistband or pocket. It also comes with a wristband, which is recommended while sleeping. Here's a review in the Wall Street Journal

Sensors everywhere – even in lightbulbs

In Total Recall, we predict a proliferation of sensors. It seems that eventually nearly everything than can be instrumented will be. What does “nearly everything” include? Well, how about your lightbulbs? Lyndsay Williams, the inventor of the SenseCam, has invented the SenseBulb. This lightbulb watches over you from above, but with a view to temperature, not what is visible, as the BBC explains:

the device uses four sensors known as thermopiles - the same kind of detector found in heat-seeking missiles. They sense temperature differences accurately and over a short time from a narrow angle.

Lindsay envisions the bulb being used for "Assisted Living  and Alzheimer's  patients" detecting

...incidents in the home, e,g, a door left open, cooker unattended  or somebody fallen in the bathroom. A text message is  sent to a mobile phone. SenseBulb is also useful for security systems in the home and office.

It can even notice "the cold draft from the cat flap," sending Lyndsay a text message when her cat goes in and out.

Where will we find sensors next?