Students create Artificial Smile Camera

Posted on 22 Mar 2010 at 09:18

A concept device created by students at the Berlin University of the Arts aims to bring a smile to anyone's face - whether they want it or not.

The Artificial Smile Camera uses a library of images featuring happy, smiling people to automatically modify any image taken should it detect that the subject isn't in the best of moods. If your subject is sad, fear not: the camera does the hard work of making them smile, and they don't even have to move a muscle.

The device, described over on the Unversity website via Nerd Approved, is - for now - just a concept, but one which builds on existing technologies such as the facial - and pet - detection systems of existing digital cameras.

While it's true that the digital gimmickry proposed in the Artificial Smile Camera is nothing that couldn't be carried out on a PC or a laptop once the image has been taken, the idea of being able to augment images directly on the camera in order to improve or enhance a shot is one that is likely to appeal to amateur point-and-shoot photographers.

How many of those would be willing to live the lie and present a faux-happy portrait for anything other than a joke is something that the device's designers - Stefan Stubbe and Andreas Schmelas - don't explore.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, no companies have yet partnered with the designers to commercialise the Artificial Smile Camera.

Author: Gareth Halfacree

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