Eye spy stealthy filming devices

Google Glass is a miniaturized computer and camera fixed to eyewear, which connects to the Web wirelessly, as displayed at the annual HDI tech conference and expo this year.

Somewhere in the last decade, technology surpassed nuclear weapons for the greatest threat to modern living. To name a few concerns, the government spies on all our communication, robots and automation devour millions of jobs, Smartphone radiation is likely causing cancer in its users, and hackers steal people’s identities. While there is a degree of truth to that, the greatest truth to fear is, in the next year or two, it will be impossible to escape being filmed.

The smoking gun in this tidal wave of surveillance might be Google Glass. Released in 2013 for developers to test run, Google Glass is a miniaturized computer and camera fixed to eyewear, which connects to the Web wirelessly. It can currently take pictures, video, search the Net, answer various messages and give directions, all rather surreptitiously. Scary, but that’s nothing compared to last week’s announcement of a new feature: streaming video.

Livestream, the leader in streaming live video content, unveiled a new version of its service that allows Google Glass users to stream content. While streaming mobile content has been available for years via tablets and smartphones, there is a major difference in someone very noticeably holding his or her phone up like a camera and someone simply wearing glasses that may or may not be streaming your actions.

Personally, this is the most exciting development in the wearable tech arena. Having a computerized watch and bracelet has its merits, but it lacks the ability to disrupt the technological landscape in the way that a secret computer strapped to one’s face does.

While some decry the intrusive nature of unknowingly being filmed, the question remains: What are you doing in public that you don’t want filmed? Retail businesses are filming you, as well as municipal street cameras and schools, and we’ve all probably had walk-on roles in countless family vacation videos from strangers. What is so inappropriate of someone secretly filming you walking down the street? CV                                

Patrick Boberg is a central Iowa creative media specialist. For more tech insights, follow him on Twitter @PatBoBomb.