Life Logging

I was watching a show the other night about Life Logging. Set up at Dublin City University by computer science professor Alan Smeaton. The concept is quite simple but one that really struck me as a great idea. Over the last few years, Alan Smeaton and other people have been taking part in a study which involves the use of a small digital camera necklace placed on them. The camera is designed to take a picture every 30 seconds or when it detects movement or a change in the light around it.

The study is based around memories and how we treasure some memories more than others, with the basic premise being that novelty makes things unique. The clever part about the study is the computer system behind it. The system actually loads all of the pictures taken from the cameras into a computer and through the system, pictures are measured for differences between each other. So ones that have similar attributes are seen to be less important because they appear over and over again, yet pictures that are more and more unique in comparison to others are seen to be stand out moments within peoples lives.

The basic idea of the system which has seen developments from Nokia and Microsoft is seen as a way to release peoples memories from menial tasks so they can become as creative as possible. The system allows people to play back over eight hours of images in around three minutes. I think for me this opens up a number of ideas and possibilities to create new ways of remembering and also storing information.