SenseCam and Isotyping : The Challenges and Benefits of Working with New Hardware

Hodges, Steve (2025) SenseCam and Isotyping : The Challenges and Benefits of Working with New Hardware. In: MM '25: Proceedings of the 33rd ACM International Conference on Multimedia :. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, New York, pp. 3-4. ISBN 9798400720352

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Abstract

In a world of generative models and large-scale data, it's insightful to revisit the intimate nature and unique value of personal multimedia through the lens of SenseCam - a wearable camera that automatically captures still images to create a visual diary for the wearer. Despite a variety of wearable camera products that have come to market in the decades since SenseCam was conceived, the unique properties of the original prototypes and the benefits these unlocked remain elusive today. Having explored why it has proven so challenging to move from a hardware prototype like SenseCam to a fully-fledged product with the same properties, I present a new phase of the prototyping-to-production journey I call isotyping. Isotyping shines a light on the critical, but often overlooked, steps necessary to scale from a promising prototype towards viable low-volume production. I call on the research community to help refine the concept and process of isotyping as we collectively continue to explore the potential of new forms of hardware in our research.