Wouldn’t it be great if you could take photographs without using a camera or pressing the shutter release button? Wouldn’t it be even better if you could look cool and trendy at the same time?!

That idea could soon become a reality, as Hewlett Packard have created a prototype pair of sunglasses that have a camera built into them. The camera apparently takes a constant stream of photos of what the sunglass wearer is viewing, so there is no decisive moment as such. The camera uses a metadata system to record information about the composition and subject matter of each image, which helps to sort out the good images from the bad ones.

Somewhat predictably, some people are already up in arms about the potential misuse of this technology:

“It’s a cool piece of technology but frankly the idea of people wandering around wearing sunglasses photographing me all the time is really disturbing,” said technology analyst Bill Thompson.

“HP need to look at the implications on privacy and stuff like that before they flood the market with these.”

What do you think? Are HP onto a winner with the whole camera sunglasses idea? Or is it destined for the black hole of forgotten technology?

Website: BBC News - “Camera specs take candid snaps”