Grad student develops camera-blocking system

If you've been using your cameraphone to play Allen Funt with unsuspecting subjects, your days may be numbered. Georgia Tech grad student Shwetak Patel is working on a system that will be able to detect cameras and shoot a focused beam of light at the lens, leaving the photog with an artsy but useless pic of bright lights. The system works by emitting a wide infrared field, which is able to pick up the presence of nearby retroflective lenses. When a lens is detected, the system points a light at it and zaps it. Obviously, the system has its limits; paparazzi-dodging celebs aren't going to carry an IR-generator and spotlight system around just to avoid getting snapped. But the current version could be used for product demos and trade shows where manufacturers don't want anyone grabbing shots of their new products. Looks like we may have to rig up a lens hood to block this thing if we want to bring home any shots from CES next year.

[Via

News.com]