Autographer is a hands-free, wearable

digital camera A digital camera, also called a digicam, is a camera that captures photographs in Digital data storage, digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film or film stock. Dig ...

developed by OMG Life. The camera uses five different sensors to determine when to automatically take photos and can take up to 2,000 pictures a day. It was released in July 2013 and is used primarily for

lifelogging A lifelog is a personal record of one's daily life in a varying amount of detail, for a variety of purposes. The record contains a comprehensive dataset of a human's activities. The data could be used to increase knowledge about how people liv ...

, entertainment and travel. As of 16 October 2016, OMG Life, the company behind Autographer discontinued operations.

History

Autographer was developed by British company OMG Life, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxford Metrics Group (OMG) plc, after licensing technology from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

to create a medical memory aid called the Vicon Revue. The original product was released in October 2009 and was designed to capture the lives of patients with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and other memory problems, so that their doctors could assess how many of the events the patients recalled. OMG reinvented the device as a consumer product based on feedback from customers who were using the technology for entertainment purposes. The media was first able to view

prototypes A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

for Autographer in March 2013, and journalists were invited to test the product at the

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

before its release. Autographer went on sale in July 2013 in the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It was initially sold on a dedicated Autographer website prior to its global release. It was featured on ''

The Jonathan Ross Show ''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jona ...

'' in January 2014. That same month, UK retailer

Topman Topman is a British online-only men's fashion retail brand operated by ASOS. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration in late 2020. All high street stores subsequently c ...

used Autographers during its London Collections: Men event. The Autographer images captured by its team were publicly viewable on the brand's digital magazine website, Topman Generation. The promotion also included a daily giveaway of an Autographer. Previously only available in black, the company added new color options to Autographer, including blue, green, and yellow, at the

International CES CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event ...

in January 2014. In March 2014, it was announced that OMG Life had developed a waterproof kit for Autographer with waterproof case maker Aquapac, allowing the device to be used underwater to a depth of 30 feet for around 30 minutes. As of 16 October 2016, OMG Life, the company behind Autographer discontinued operations.

Design and features

Autographer is

wearable technology Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the s ...

that features a hands-free,

camera in a plastic casing meant to be worn around the neck or clipped to clothing. The camera is 5

megapixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sma ...

and has a 136-degree

wide-angle lens In photography and cinematography, a wide-angle lens is a Photographic lens, lens covering a large angle of view. Conversely, its focal length is substantially smaller than that of a normal lens for a given film plane. This type of lens allows mo ...

that was designed to resemble a

human eye The human eye is a sensory organ in the visual system that reacts to light, visible light allowing eyesight. Other functions include maintaining the circadian rhythm, and Balance (ability), keeping balance. The eye can be considered as a living ...

. Autographer is 90x36mm in size and weighs approximately 58 grams. Autographer has five

sensors A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

to detect changes in environment. These changes trigger the camera to take a photo. There is a sensor to determine when there is a shift in color, an

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

sensor for lighting changes, a

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

that reacts to temperature, a

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

that perceives direction changes, and an

accelerometer An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change (mathematics), rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (tha ...

which detects motion. The device also uses

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

to track where photos were taken. Unlike traditional digital cameras, it does not have a screen to preview images. The images captured by Autographer can be managed through an

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

or Android app and desktop software.

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

syncing allows users to automatically port images to their devices. Using the software and apps, users are able to edit and tag images, as well as view collected data about them, including GPS. Images can also be used to create animated

GIFs The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , ) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on June 15, 1987. The format can co ...

and

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

videos. Autographer can take up to 2,000 photos a day and contains 8GB of memory that can store up to 16,000 images.

Reception

Autographer has received positive reviews for its ease of use, and the quality of its app and software by both ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', while the ability to take unique candid shots has been praised by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''

Building Design Building design, also called architectural design, refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licen ...

''. It has been named a top travel gift by ''Escapism magazine'' and

AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...

UK Travel. The product has received criticism in the media for privacy issues, and OMG has worked to address these concerns by including an

etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...

guide with Autographer. Both ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''The Guardian'' noted that the device's design makes it conspicuous when taking photos and includes a highly visible lens cover. Other negative issues cited about Autographer include image quality and price.

References

{{reflist

External links

Autographer home page
Digital cameras Ubiquitous computing Wearable computers Fashion accessories Ambient intelligence