EYECRY

2017

What if the ability to post on social media was dictated by emotions?

EyeCry is a prototyped biometric camera that only captures images when the user produces tears. The device is intended to invert mainstream relationships with social media by only capturing moments of extreme emotion and vulnerability.

Additionally, EyeCry questions the role of authenticity online, unveiling the artifice of social media. Users must either disclose their most sentient moments to their following or physically force tears in order to remain online.

The prototype is powered by a Raspberry Pi and accompanying python 3 application. The prosthetic, however, is comprised of several different makeups that are applied onto the body. First, a prosthetic makeup piece is situated under the wearer’s eye. This prosthetic has both a ground and power cord embedded within the makeup that connect to a camera placed on the shoulder. The under-eye prosthetic produces a depression beneath the eye, similar to a funnel, as the application is used to collect the wearer’s tears. Once the prosthetic detects that tears have fallen from the wearer’s face, the wires within the prosthetic activate a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree camera situated on the wearer’s shoulder. The tears are able to complete the electrical circuit due to tear’s salinity, thus being able to pass an electrical current. The wearer’s tears then trigger the camera to produce documentation of their current state.