Marc Teyssier's "Eyecam" Is the Creepiest Webcam Ever

Like Midorikawa's terrifying Suicoke collaboration, there something unsettling about adding anthropomorphic elements to everyday goods. Marc Teyssier's newest webcam creation is no exception. Named the "Eyecam" the Saarland University Human-Computer Interaction Lab project resembles a human eye and can blink, move, and can track your movements.

Giving "eye contact" a new meaning in the digital world, the Eyecam is a rare instance where form has been made to match function on a literal level. Teyssier's work is all about posing questions and questioning the relationship between humans and sensing devices, or as he asks:

Should the device be transparent and invisible to the user? What are the next social and ethical challenges of IoT? What is the balance between mediation and intrusion? How can we design for the right amount of agency to smart sensing devices? How can reinforce privacy and show the user they are being watched? How can we design smart devices to be present where needed, but respectfully absent when not?

The entire project is open-source and open-hardware with the files already on GitHub. Teyssier and his team are also already working on a full video tutorial on how to make the Eyecam.

I did a creepy thing (again). The human eye webcam. #hci #robotics #diy #speculativedesign #design #CHI2021 More info and #opensource : https://t.co/F61Y9Ut4Da pic.twitter.com/SkDOcbY74p

— Marc Teyssier (@marcteyssier) April 7, 2021