HP has submitted a patent for technology that would blur faces in any images captured by the camera if the subject of the photo used a “image inhibitor module”. Essentially, the user of this module would signal to nearby cameras that the wearer does not want to be photographed. If a picture was taken, the image-analysis software of the camera would render only a fuzzy outline of the person’s face.
Maurizio Pilu, an engineer in HP’s Bristol, England, labs, says in the application that such a system would balance the proliferation of digital imaging capabilities with growing concerns about privacy.
But what’s to prevent someone from getting a camera that does not recognize the image-blocking signals?