UT LIVE LENS
In August 2024, Brooklyn resident Morry Kolman developed
www.trafficcamphotobooth.com, a website that allows visitors to (mis)use
traffic surveillance cameras to take personal photographs. The website
uses the live feed from the NYC DOT (updated every few seconds) to
capture images from the cameras. This enables users, as the website
explains, to pose in the camera frame and "take selfies with
surveillance." In response to this website, I've developed a similar
tool that utilizes traffic cameras in Austin, Texas, for play and not
just surveillance. With 26 cameras covering the perimeter of UT Austin's
campus, "UT Live Lens" offers users a similar chance to misuse
surveillance technologies for fun!!!
The photos will update around every 5-6 minutes. The entire page must
be reloaded to view the new captured image.
Credit to Morry Kolman for the idea; KUT News for the data; and City of
Austin Transportation Public Works for the use of their silly cameras.
Please contact Trent Wintermeier (trentwintermeier@utexas.edu) with any
questions or concerns. And please don't use this on the road or injure
yourself taking a street selfie. Be safe out there!