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Hell in a Handbasket: Bodycams for Civilians

SlimDesign's PhoneCam

By Rain Noe - January 4

in Tech

Well, this is a damning indictment of our society. In a relatively short stretch of time, we've gone from wearing cameras to record cool action-sports stunts, to wearing cameras for security purposes. The PhoneCam, by Dutch product design and development company SlimDesign, is billed as "a breakthrough solution for individuals and businesses seeking accessibility to safety."

As a jaded American I can see certain situations where this might be useful, but I find the thinking behind the PhoneCam's UI to be naïve. The idea is that you press the button once to put the camera in standby mode, which illuminates the white racetrack-shaped light. This is meant to notify whoever's facing you that they're about to be recorded.

Pressing it a second time turns the light red, at which point it begins recording, uploading footage to the cloud, and simultaneously sends a request for help to your nearby contacts, along with your location. In other words it goes straight to Call the Cavalry.

This all perhaps makes sense for European mores, but I just can't see this going well in the 'States. We've got a combination of trigger-happy vigilantes, a tendency to needlessly escalate conflicts and, as you can see on any "viral videos" website, people who have no problem behaving badly even if they know they're being filmed.

That aside, the PhoneCam apparently is coming to market; it's set to debut at CES next week.

Here's how it works:

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John Kestner

10 months ago

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I don’t think this is going to escalate situations any more than any phone being taken out and pointed at you, just perhaps a bit more convenient in an emergency.

I think personal bodycams could serve to film the police more than random criminals, as the police often restrict access to their own bodycams, eliminating the accountability those were supposed to provide.

But really the primary function of this whole category, statistically, is to provide a feeling of comfort. If this thing becomes popular, we’d see a bunch of inert fake ones you can pin to clothing.

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Alan Nomoto

10 months ago

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Oh boy. Flight Attendants, Nightclub Bouncers, Transit Drivers... This will be the next big thing in the legal industry. Also just another thing for Pegasus to hack into.

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Ale C.

10 months ago

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I wonder at the possibility of police retaliation if one uses the emergency function to live-stream while being accosted by a cop, if they're the ones alerted to your distress.

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