This Camera Lets You Take Photos With Your Hands

This Camera Lets You Take Photos With Your Hands

March 30, 2012 By Emily Price On MASHABLE

Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences have created a prototype for a new type of camera called Ubi-Camera that lets you snap a photograph by creating a rectangle with your hands.

Here’s how it works: Connect the device to your index finger and then form a rectangle with your fingers. Your finger rectangle works as a viewfinder for the camera, and photos are taken by pressing on the device firmly with your thumb.

The Ubi-camera has a built-in range sensor that can tell the amount of space between the camera and the photographer’s face, and uses that information to create a shot. For instance, when you take a photo with your face close to the camera, you get a wide-angle shot. When you move your fingers further away you can snap a close up. Zooming in on photos is done later on a PC.

Researchers did a brief demo of the camera for DigInfoTV, showing off how the device is able to capture pictures:

The range sensor uses infrared technology, which occasionally has difficulty detecting faces and can be affected by light — something the developers hope to update in the future.

In its current prototype form the Ubi-camera also needs to be connected to a PC while you take a photo; however, developers hope to make a stand-alone version of the camera in the future that can be used away from a computer screen.

Can you see yourself using the Ubi-camera? Let us know your thoughts on the unique camera in the comments.