April 2009 by Colin Barras
Canadian filmmaker Rob Spence damaged his right eye in a childhood accident and was later given a prosthetic replacement. Like any other false eye, it was designed to be purely an aesthetic replacement, but he realised that the vacant bit of face real estate could be put to better use in his art.
Now Spence is attempting to build a wireless video camera into his synthetic eye, turning himself into a self-proclaimed "Eyeborg".
The camera will record anything and anyone that enters Spence's field of vision and relay the footage back to a computer. That video will provide a unique perspective on the way video surveillance is becoming more popular in western societies, he told New Scientist.
This week, Spence and engineer Kosta Grammatis have succeeded in placing a working red LED in Spence's eye (see image, above right), giving him a look not dissimilar from Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg in The Terminator.
Although this is a diversion from the main goal, it is the first time the team has fitted a working electronic device, complete with power source, into the eye socket, says Spence.
An LED may even be fitted alongside the camera in the final Eyeborg prosthetic if the battery can spare enough power, he adds. Apart from the aesthetic value, it could provide lighting in dark conditions.
See a gallery of images from the project
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