Lengthy Earlier than Smartglasses, There was the Deja View Camwear 100

In 2004, a small digicam hooked up to a typical glasses body appeared nearly utterly regular at first look. Nonetheless, few folks did a double take after they first noticed it. What was this little gadget? The Deja View Camwear 100 had quietly launched a now-familiar idea: capturing video from the wearer’s perspective whereas leaving their fingers free.

Deja View, a tiny firm primarily based in Brick Township, New Jersey, launched the Camwear 100 late in 2003. Their inventor, Sid Reich, was bored with photographing occasions like his son’s Little League video games and shedding the entire key features, similar to lengthy stretches of inactivity adopted by a surge of motion that ended earlier than he was able to depart. So he got here up with an answer. A tiny (roughly an inch size) analog digicam related by a cable to a small recording gear the scale of a classic moveable cassette participant. The gadget served because the operation’s mind, and Sid’s brainwave enabled the whole lot.

The recorder and digicam got here as a bundle, and also you merely clipped the digicam to your glasses body or hat brim utilizing the numerous given items; the field included clips, O-rings, and small sticky stuff to maintain it in place. A brief, skinny wire related the digicam to the recorder, which was hooked up to your belt or pocket, however it required energy, which was supplied by a built-in lithium-ion battery with sufficient juice to final for hours, however like every battery, it could ultimately run out.

Its intelligent processing unit would continually hold 30 seconds of video and audio with out ever saving something to the cardboard until you immediately instructed it to. So that you merely pressed a single button to seize the final 30 seconds and put it aside to a detachable SD card (64MB was regular, however it supported as much as 512MB playing cards). The video high quality was affordable at 320 x 240 pixels and 30 frames per second, compressed with MPEG4 and saved in ASF format. The built-in microphone on the digicam captured the sounds. As soon as saved, it’s possible you’ll ship the recordsdata to a pc by way of USB and modify them with rudimentary software program, or you’ll be able to play them instantly on a TV utilizing composite output.

The advertising marketing campaign focused household customers and oldsters at sporting occasions, household holidays, college recitals, and amusement parks, however quickly, firms, safety corporations, legislation enforcement, and even the US army took observe; in accordance with experiences, the US Military’s 1st Cav employed these units in Falluja in 2005. The Camwear 100 price $399, which is roughly $700 in at the moment’s cash, and it debuted simply as digital cameras grew to become smaller and cell telephones started so as to add video capabilities. You’ll get a person information, a quick begin card, a USB cable, an influence adapter, a composite cable, a belt clip, and a wide range of different equipment that can assist you get began.

A 12 months or so later, a brand new mannequin, the Camwear 200, debuted, which allowed for steady recording and used bigger playing cards, however the core precept remained similar. Deja View solely existed briefly, as the corporate failed in late 2006, its area expired, and the founder retired. No nice success adopted, however the Camwear 100 quietly proved what wearable cameras would possibly obtain lengthy earlier than cellphones and social media made fixed seize regular.