Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a device that detects a digital camera up to 33 feet away and shoots a beam of light into the lens. Pictures taken with the camera look like a blurry flashlight. Although they've only got a lab prototype right now, they are working to produce a commercially viable unit. The researchers presented their findings at Ubicomp, a Tokyo conference, last week.
HP developed a similar system earlier this year, and applied for a patent. HP's system relied on circuitry in the camera that obsures faces on demand.
