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Comment by verisimi | Hacker News Reader

What's with the orb gimmick - a spherical metal camera? Why not use a normal camera?

Slurping up biometric data, on the promise of free money - lol

PS Apparently the orb is for:

Our approach relies on a custom biometric device - we call it the Orb - that verifies the uniqueness of a person through iris recognition, while ensuring their privacy through zero-knowledge cryptography.

https://worldcoin.org/how-the-launch-works#field-tests

But I thought people's irises can in fact change colour and pattern.. maybe there's some special software that updates that too with zero-knowledge... what do I know?

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> What's with the orb gimmick - a spherical metal camera?

How are you supposed to start a cult with a normal camera though? At least that's the vibe I'm picking up from how they revere the Orb in their copy.

Maybe they could include an E-meter?

It's literally an "oooh shiny" tactic

The Orb itself is actually a remarkable piece of technology (considering what is available in a package of this size).

"Normal camera" won't do for the same reason Face ID won't work without PrimeSense.

I think the OP is referring to the form factor. It seems impractical and gimmicky. Why not stick the same technology into something shaped like a DSLR or video camera - i.e. something easier to hold? Making a shiny orb betrays an obsession with the technology and not the problem they're ostensibly trying to solve.

Edit: The article includes 2 pictures of orb operators using the orb. In both cases it seems like a more traditional form factor would be better. The first picture shows an orb operator balancing the orb in his hand - seems like a handle would be useful. The second picture shows the spherical orb awkwardly strapped to a flat platform on top of a monopod or tripod. I'm guessing that the orb does not have a tripod mount, but it really should.

I had an interview with the company and the interviewer was kind enough to show me the device.

When I was solving this class of problems in 2016 (image acquisition, object detection, identification, measurement etc.) with same kind of limitations (everything has to happen within the device itself, no uplink to the cloud) I managed it with a box of 100 kg and a size of really big suitcase.

Seeing this (sensor package and computation) within small device impressed me personally.

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