The German company Zeiss has unveiled a brand new technology: the Holocam. This allows you to transform any window into an invisible camera, since it is transparent.
It was during CES 2024 that Zeiss presented its new product to the general public. If the company is recognized for its photographic and cinematographic lenses, its microscopes and its telescopes, it is also recognized for its capacity for innovation in optics. The Holocam is therefore one of their latest discoveries. A completely invisible camera integrated into a window, a technology that could be applied to many areas: digital communications, automobiles or residential security.
Holocam technology, a feat
The Holocam is a true feat in the field of optics, which “ relies on holographic insertion, light guiding and separation techniques to redirect light passing through a transparent medium to a hidden image sensor “. All the light that passes through the glass surface is no longer redirected towards a traditional lens, but towards a tiny device invisible to the naked eye. Thanks to this, the camera is completely transparent. It is possible ” to have direct eye contact with the person you are speaking to » since the camera can be placed anywhere.
Zeiss already sees quite diverse practical applications: completely hidden parking cameras, smart doorbells without a separate camera module, webcams allowing you to look at any part of your screen and the possibility of integrating facial recognition systems or gesture on any screen.
Potentially harmful consequences for confidentiality
During CES, Zeiss largely focused on the advantages of Holocam applied to automobiles. We can in particular think of a windshield capable of detecting fatigue in the driver. However, it is impossible not to think of somewhat more limited applications of this technology.
Imagining in the future that any window, or even a shower door could contain a camera, is not particularly reassuring. No one really wants to be filmed in the shower in their next Airbnb or any other apartment rented for a short period of time. No one wants to be unknowingly recorded at their workplace while chatting at the coffee machine either. If we go further, the Holocam could very well be used to support criminal activities (collection of sensitive information, blackmail) or industrial espionage.
From a strictly scientific point of view, the Holocam is a feat not to be denied. Concerning ethics and respect for confidentiality, this technology will need to be truly regulated if it is adopted in the future.
Source : Digital Camera World
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