Microsoft Life Blogging Camera

The concept of life-blogging, wherein a camera captures your daily activities, has been floating around for years. Microsoft came up with SenseCam, which snaps images twice a minute then creates a slideshow of what you have done during the day, intended for people suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia. It did not jump to mainstream consciousness, however, but the SenseCam comes back in a new incarnation.

This time, the life-blogging camera is named the ViconRevue, after being licensed by a British company called Vicon. Still worn with a lanyard, the ViconRevue has a VGA camera sensor that captures images every 30 seconds then saved in its 1GB of internal storage. It also uses an accelerometer and light sensors that enables the ViconRevue to snap photos as the wearer enters a new environment, as well as an infrared sensor so it would take a shot whenever it detects body heat from a person in front of the wearer.

The ViconRevue will be launched next week for researchers of Alzheimer's, dementia, and other memory-debilitating diseases at £500 (about US$820), although a consumer version will become available next year.