Blurred images

Up to now, most blurred images were the fault of the cameraman (or woman). But perhaps that may change.

CNET has a report about recent patent application by HP for a system in which digital cameras would be equipped with circuits that could be remotely triggered to blur the face in any images captured by the camera.

“U.S. patent application 20040202382, filed in April 2003 and published in October 2004, describes a system in which an image captured by a camera could be automatically modified based on commands sent by a remote device. In short, anyone who doesn’t want their photo taken at a particular time could hit a clicker to ensure that any cameras or camera-equipped gadgets in range got only a fuzzy outline of their face.”

There’s a thoughtful posting on Slashdot about this. What if a cop who’s beating a demonstrator could use this technology to prevent news photographers from capturing his image?