top of page
A super compact, lifestyle focussed action camera
___
Overview
A Sony concept for a lifestyle focused action camera, presented at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona. Ultra-compact and wide-lens, the camera makes use of intelligent features to capture the perfect moments automatically.
Opportunity
Action cameras are primarily focused on extreme sports, but we explored whether there is space for a more lifestyle focused action camera. Rather than being used for high impact activities such as mountain biking or skiing, we envisaged use cases like exploring a city by bike, or playing with your kids in the garden.
Technology
The concept began in 2015, when advancements in machine learning were starting to make image recognition a far more useful and realistic feature. The theory behind the product was that we could use this technology to help the user capture the perfect moment automatically, so they could stay in the moment without having to focus on recording. This way they’d have the ‘real’ and the digital memory, the best of both worlds.
Validation
Following the announcement at MWC 2016, I would describe the reaction as lukewarm; people were interested, but not really that excited. Presenting concepts at trade shows is a powerful (and very public) way of validating an idea, and with little interest the project didn't go ahead. I think this was the right choice - to an extent this concept manifested itself in ‘Google Clips’, launched in 2018, and to my understanding this had an equally lukewarm reception.
bottom of page