Apple continues to explore new avenues to evolve its Watch: one could coincide with theintegration of a small camera. The project is documented by a patent published today by the USPTO: the incipit of the document does not leave much room for interpretation, given that it can be read “clock with camera“.
It is immediately interesting to highlight where Apple plans to integrate the camera, that is inside the digital crown – at least in one of the possible solutions documented in the patent. Another solution to reach the lens is to house the camera module in the back of the case, making it easily removable from the strap. In other words, a small camera always within reach of the wrist, to be extracted when needed.
The first solution is the most captivating one but also the one that arouses the greatest perplexity for technical difficulties and regarding the privacy aspects. Technically it is quite complex to integrate in the digital crown, already complex in itself, everything necessary to acquire photos and videos (sensor and optical group).
Apple does not explain the technical solutions, it can therefore be assumed that the structure of the current digital crown should be revised and simplified to make room for the camera. Simpler, but not in-depth in the patent, is how in concrete the user will acquire the photos or start the video recording – the simplest solution could be thesmartwatch interface which could also play the role of viewfinder while using the cam. It is true that over time the digital crown has progressively been enriched with functions, up to the point of integrating the ECG sensor; Apple has no shortage of means and resources to find a solution.
More thorny is the question from privacy: a camera so miniaturized, which can be used optimally concealing its use, could be a formidable weapon in the hands of stalkers and criminals. In the patent, Apple assumes that the subjects who will acquire personal data using a solution such as the one proposed will do so in compliance with the rules on the management of personal data. How to say, the instrument itself is neutral, it is the use that is made of it that is both lawful and illegal.
Waiting for more consistent clues on the possible transformation of the invention into a commercial product, it is interesting to note that one of the two inventors is Tyler S. Bushnell himself who a couple of years ago patented a system to simplify the structure of the digital crown. replacing the mechanical parts with optical sensors capable of detecting gestures. This simplification work could be functional to the integration of the camera, but for now they are simple clues contained in a patent.
