A tech startup is in the process of making a hair clip with a built-in camera, and it may be more useful and innovative than it first sounds.
Whether it’s Google Glass or the Ray-Ban Meta, there have been ways to wear a camera on your face for a while, but most of the time, they’re very noticeable and somewhat inconvenient methods of capturing video.
The hair clip camera has the working name of DC Mini, and is still in its prototype phase. It’s the work of startup Computer Angel, headed up by Jenny Zhang, and it’s the first of its kind.
A stylish alternative to smartglasses
It seems to work as you’d expect, with the hardware incorporating a clip to hold on to your hair, ensuring the camera faces forward. It’s not clear how the camera is operated.
The unusual product is interesting for several reasons. It’s less intrusive and more easily styled than smartglasses, plus its design will immediately appeal more to women. Zhang explained a little more about why this matters this to Forbes:
It’s not so much about tech trending more feminine, and more about designing tech that properly integrates into our lives. The form enables function. Because when I can hang it on my bag, when it’s cute, when it represents me, I actually use it.
Outside of smart rings, wearable jewelry has never really taken off, and accessories like the DC Mini may fill a gap in the market.
Clipping the camera to hair is only the start
Thinking of the hair clip camera as a product that only clips to hair is only seeing part of the picture too. The design means it can be clipped to many other things, turning it from a wearable camera into a portable vlogging camera.
The popularity of small, highly portable gimbal cameras like the DJI Osmo Pocket comes from the even greater popularity of personal vlogging, particularly in China, where fast, convenient access to a camera is essential. The hair clip camera would allow different viewpoints to be filmed, in different ways, without needing to use a phone, carry a tripiod, or wear smartglasses.
Computer Angel’s project is also reminiscent of life-logging cameras like Google Clips and the Looki L1.
Vlogging the development story
The unusual product is only part of the story. Zhang, a filmmaker and self-taught engineer, is documenting her journey developing the hair clip camera on social media, having moved from New York to Shenzhen, China in order to make it a reality.
Considering the hair clip camera is a storytelling device, it’s fitting the development process is also a story being told using it, and other devices, on the platforms where it may eventually thrive.
There’s no information on when Computer Angel expects the hair clip camera to become a consumer-ready product, so it’s one to watch for now. Should it reach store shelves, it will be interesting to see if it suffers from the privacy concerns that surround the Ray-Ban Meta’s camera, or if the likely entirely different user base makes it less of a problem.
You can follow Zhang’s journey at Computer Angel, her Instagram account, and on her X account.
