|
Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
|
SenseCam Seems To Help Dementia Patients
The SenseCam is a digital camera developed by Microsoft; it hangs around your neck and takes pictures of what you are seeing throughout the course of the day. The device was first introduced in 2004; more details about it are found in the previous article SenseCam Camera: Your Personal Black Box.
(The Microsoft SenseCam personal life events camera)
Results reported recently include the following anecdote; one woman who could only remember 2% of events from any given week could recall 80% of major events that occurred over a six week period when she reviewed the SenseCam's images for an hour every two days.
"Not only does SenseCam allow people to recall memories while they are looking at the images, which in itself is wonderful, but after an initial period of consolidation, it appears to lead to long-term retention of memories over many months, without the need to view the images repeatedly," says Emma Berry, a neuropsychologist who works as a consultant to Microsoft.
Science fiction fans might compare this device to the Psypyx from John Barnes' 1998 novel Earth Made of Glass; it recorded mental impressions.
More recently, I ran across this same idea in Charles Stross' excellent 2007 novel Halting State, which refers to the idea of a lifelog.
You shake your head and climb out of the car, tapping your ear-piece to tell your phone to listen up: "Arriving on SOC, time-stamp now. Start evidence log." It's logging anyway - everything you see on duty goes into the black box - but the voice marker is searchable. It saves the event from getting lost in your lifelog.
It would be fun to combine the SenseCam with the Self-contained motion capture suits created by Rolf Adelsberger; that way, you could not only tell what you were looking at, you could tell how you were sitting, standing or walking when the picture was taken.
Update 13-Dec-2007: See also this reference to the alibi-archive from Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer, contributed by Chris Johnston. End update.
Update 28-Oct-2009: The life recorder from Roger Zelazny's 1966 novel The Dream Master is an earlier reference to this idea in sf. End update.
Update 01/02/2024: Take a look at the lifebox from Rudy Rucker's 1986 story Soft Death. End update.
From A Camera to Help Dementia Patients.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/12/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.
| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories -
("
Culture
")
How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.
California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.' - Ray Brandbury, 1953.
Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.' - Bruce Sterling, 1994.
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors." - Poul Anderson, 1953.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
|
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Hybrid Wind Solar Devices
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Is Optimus Autonomous Or Teleoperated?
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
Robot Masseuse Rubs People The Right Way
'The automatic massager began to fumble gently...'
Solar-Powered Space Trains On The Moon
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
Drone Deliveries Instead Of Waiters In Restaurants?
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
More SF in the News Stories
More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories
|
|