MS's "Lifeblogging" Camera Enters Mass Production

holy_calamity writes "Remember Microsoft's camera to be slung around the necks of people with Alzheimer's to help them recall where they'd been? A version of this device will now be mass-produced by a UK firm, Vicon, which obtained a license from Microsoft to manufacture the camera. It is worn around the neck and takes an image every thirty seconds, or in response to its light sensor, accelerometer, or body-heat sensor indicating that something of interest may be happening. Until now only a few hundred had been made for research, which showed they can genuinely help people with memory problems. The new version will be marketed to Alzheimer's researchers this winter, and to consumers for 'lifelogging' beginning in 2010."

Re:Dupes!

[sakdoctor]

Where did lifeblogging come from?
TFA only refers to lifelogging.

kdawson sucks.

Re:A better and more mundane solution

[wizardforce]

My grandmother has severe memory problems. We have tried a system very similar to what you describe and frankly, once her memory got bad enough to need such a system, she couldn't remember to note the things she should remember. We did most of the note taking for her and she would forget to use them. Honestly, the camera may help with memory problems just due to the fact that it does it automatically but really it may just come down to her forgetting why she has it and leave it somewhere. What people with memory problems like hers really need is care and attention from their family and friends. It is as simple as that. They're going through life with pieces missing and they often know it and that is really hard for them emotionally and no camera is going to fix that.

Re:A better and more mundane solution

[cjerrells]

I haven't read the papers first-hand but did see the research presented and IIRC the point is that this doesn't just help the person to remember the facts of what they did (as your suggested approach would). Instead, it allowed them to retain the *actual memories* of what had happened. Having visual and audio records of the events of the day, and reviewing them periodically over the next couple of weeks actually helped these people retain their memories of the events. I'm pretty sure they said this extended to details not captured by the SenseCam, demonstrating that they weren't just remembering the material they'd reviewed.

So quite different from 'Did I remember to take my pill? Oh yes, here, I wrote it down...'

When I first heard about the SenseCam project it was the lifeblogging pitch and I thought it was cool but gimmicky. The research results they had for improving patients' memories really impressed me though.

Not Life"B"logging

[Chapter80]

Get the B out of there, in the headline. It's not life"B"logging!!!! You made up that word.

The article refers to lifelog, not lifeblog.

Let's not let another crappy made-up word enter our vocabulection!

Writing is a big problem!

[Frans Faase]

Alzheimer's Disease is not only about memory. A recent article [ama-assn.org] describes how certain cognive abilities, such as visuospatial skill, already start to decline three years before the first signs of memory imparement start to surface. My wife, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease about three years ago, can no longer write, not even her own name. She cannot even sign. She still thinks that she can write her name, but when she tries, she fails. Even copying her name from an example, is very hard for her. She can still read, although lately I have noticed, she is also starting to have problems with that. However, she still does most of our shoppings. She goes shopping almost everyday and I tell her what to buy. But I should limit the number of items to about three, otherwise she is getting trouble. If its more than one or two items, I have to give her a shopping list. I give her the list in the morning, before I go to my office, and in most cases it is only during the day, that she goes shopping. Her short-time memory is very poor. She can tell you the same story within five minutes, or also often loses her keys or makes things 'disappear' in the house.

Reading a clock is a big problem

[Frans Faase]

O yeah, besides reading be a problem, reading the time from a clock is even a bigger problem. I have removed the minute hand from some of our clocks in home, because already very earlier phases of Alzheimer's Disease, confusing the hour and minute hands is a big problem. A sense of time is also one of the things that is often lost early phases of the disease.