Cameras are getting smaller and smaller, but the most pocket-friendly point-and-shoot can’t compete with a new concept from Yeon Su Kim. The designer has created a mechanism appropriately called the Air Clicker for using nothing more than your hands to capture images.
Two small ring-like devices wrap about a user’s pointer finger and thumb. Then making certain hand gestures and connecting to your smartphone via Bluetooth, you send photos to your handset. The thumb ring has a power button and a camera lens to take the picture while the other piece holds tension-sensing silicon so it can read the positioning of your finger. Bending your forefinger will take a photo while cupping your hand captures video.
Obviously the concept of megapixels doesn’t really apply to the Air Clicker—the quality of the photos isn’t really what’s up for discussion here (and such specs are unavailable). But with the proliferation and domination of smartphone cameras, it only stands to reason that consumers will appreciate the added convenience.
The innovation behind this concept is pretty mind-blowing, but its practicality is what could make it a reality. More and more people own smartphones, meaning more and more people are becoming casual (extremely casual) photographers, and for this demographic ease of use is the obvious motivation. And it doesn’t get much easier than moving your hands. However, we’re assuming the Air Clicker doesn’t have an outstanding sensor, nor does it come equipped with a flash, so in most cases it would take worse photos than your phone on its own.
Now pack this idea with some high-quality image capture technology and you’d have photographers of all skill levels trying to get their hands (fingers?) on it.
