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Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK
7 JJ Thomson Avenue,
Cambridge, CB3 0FB, UK

Lyndsay Williams

Lyn in 2006

SenseCam 2004

SenseCam 2006

designed by Sensors and Devices Group

ThrillChip 2007

I have been a Researcher and Hardware Engineer at Microsoft Research Cambridge UK since 1998 and I am in the Sensors and Devices Group. My current research interests include Lifelogging, memory recall for dementia , biomedical and analogue sensors, haptics, MEMs devices, embedded and wearable computers. I obtained my BSc Hons in Biomedical Electronics from the University of Salford, UK in 1980. I was born in Cheshire, England.
My background is in electronic engineering (hardware and software) for embedded microcontrollers and includes analogue music synthesiser design, digital audio, biomedical engineering, avionics engineering, pocket computers, toy design and military hardware design.

My designs for Microsoft have also included inventions for SenseCam , BioSenseCam, GyroTablet, a 3 Dimension displays for handheld PCs, ( GyroTablet , SonarScreen, HoloSim), Pen Computers, SensePill, and radiolocation tracking devices. I currently have 15 patents filed for Microsoft as here.
Prior to joining Microsoft Research in 1998 I was a Senior Research Fellow at BT Labs, Martlesham, UK where I invented and patented a pen with handwriting capture and motion controlled display, SmartQuill.

I designed the hardware for the first soundcard for a PC in 1987 and also initiated some of the first digital audio sound samplers for music and games for personal computers in the 1980's (for Commodore, Datel and Evolution Electronics )

I live in Cambridge, UK with my daughter, Louise.

Contact Details:

Lyndsay Williams here

Lyndsay Williams direct email from May 2007

Lyndsay Williams' Selected Academic Publications
Lyndsay is a contributing author to "Real world digital audio" 2006

The Use Of SenseCam As A Pictorial Diary To Improve Autobiographical Memory In A Patient With Limbic Encephalitis � A Preliminary Report. 2006. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Williams et al

SenseCam: a Retrospective Memory Aid Ubicomp 2006 Williams et al

Stimulating Episodic Memory Using SenseCam 2006 Poster 10th Anniversary Celebration of the
founding of The Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Williams et al

Designing Augmented Refrigerator Magnets Conference Poster Ubicomp 2005 Tokyo, Williams et al

Passive capture and ensuing issues for a personal lifetime store ACM 2004 Williams et al

Wood, K., Fleck, R. & Williams, L (2004) Playing with SenseCam. Proceedings of Playing with Sensors: Exploring the boundaries of sensing for playful ubiquitous computing (W3), UbiComp 2004, Nottingham, UK.

SmartMoveX on a Graph�An Inexpensive Active Badge Tracker Ubicomp 2002 Williams et al

Other SenseCam Academic references 76 references up to April 2007

Selected publications from pre -1983:

Practical Electronics Sequencer March 1979 Lyndsay Robinson

Practical Electronics Waveform Digitiser Sept 1982 Lyndsay Robinson

Practical Computing Spectrum/Analogue digital interface Jan 1983 Lyndsay Robinson

Other

Program committee Pervasive 2005 Munich

Academic Papers referring to SenseCam

Lyn's European patents inc images also SenseCam

Some of Lyn's USA Patents for Microsoft inc SenseCam

Pending Patents

K. R. Wood, S. Hodges, L. Williams, C. Rother, A. Criminisi, J. Chiloyan and J. Srinivasan. Camera for automatic image capture having plural capture modes with different capture triggers. Microsoft Research Cambridge. Filed 5/Dec/2005 pending.

C. Rother, K. R. Wood, L. Williams, S. Hodges, A. Criminisi and J. Srinivasan. Playback of Digital Images. Microsoft Research Cambridge. Filed 5/Dec/2005 pending.

K. R. Wood, S. Hodges, L. Williams, M. Goldberg, C. Rother, A. Criminisi and J. Srinivasan. Transferring of Digital Images. Microsoft Research Cambridge. Filed 5/Dec/2005 pending.

Selected Book contributions/ references to Lyndsay Williams

Guanxi Microsoft China and Bill Gates Plan to win the road ahead 2005

Inside Out - Microsoft 2000

Awards

SenseCam won a runners up award for Microsoft for Technology Innovation for The Wall Street Journal in 2004

Thought LeaderShip Award Microsoft Research 2005

I invented SenseCam in 1999 in Cambridge, UK. My goal was to create a device, "Total Recall", to help people with major memory loss such as dementia. SenseCam is a camera worn on the body that automatically captures memorable moments in the day based on changes in the environment, such as motion, acceleration detecting people, light change, temperature, heart rate, etc. All sensor data is recorded in a similar manner to an aircraft �Black Box� recorder but worn on the human body. A fish eye lens captures a very wide image view, 400% larger than an standard digital camera. Several thousand images are captured in the day and replayed in a few minutes. We have used this successfully to aid patients with severe memory lose in joint research with Dr Emma Berry of Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge. We are working with Gordon Bell at Microsoft Research San Francisco and the MyLifeBits project with the SenseCam. In 2006, Microsoft awarded $350,000 to seven recipients for research applications, mainly medical, for the SenseCam.
right: Gordon Bell wearing SenseCam

Here is a BBC News video of SenseCam (4MB mpeg file) and here is a SenseMovie made outside King's College Cambridge. Bill Gates also talks about the SenseCam in Time Magazine, March 2006.

SenseCam won a runners up award for Microsoft for Technology Innovation for The Wall Street Journal in 2004. DARPA are currently using SenseCams.

SenseCam in the News

Researcher Records His Life On Computer CBS News Video April 9th 2007 San Francisco

The Daily Telegraph - Human black box 'triggers memories' 24/3/07

New Microsoft Research Techfest March 2007 webcast Keynote Talk by Rick Rashid including SenseCam, (20 mins, 30 sec into webcast) . alternative source here

NEW Here is a March 2007 article in Scientific Americam on MyLifeBits and SenseCam.

The Chronicle of Higher Education March 2007

March 07 Making Sense of Alzheimer's disease

UbiComp 2006 SenseCam: A Retrospective Memory Aid

Emma Berry,Alex Butler, Steve Hodges, Shahram Izadi, Narinder Kapur, Gavin Smyth, James Srinivasan, Lyndsay Williams, Ken Wood

More on the SenseCam/MyLifebits project here.

My last invention is BioSenseCam. As well as the SenseCam which records all life's images, movement, temperature etc, the BioSenseCam goal is record all life's, emotions and feelings, such as fear, excitement, pleasure etc and to replay these feelings in a human. This concept was described in the fictional Soul Catcher from BT Labs, Martlesham in 1996. Feelings are recorded with biomedical sensors, such as heart rate, Galvanic Skin Response (records sweat) , respiration. After recording , some of these emotions can be physically replicated in the person by a novel haptic device, the ThrillChip, the size of a coin. The user can watch the Sensecam video and via the ThrillChip connected to the head, the fear, excitement, surprise, etc is replicated. Head movement will be able to control the intensity of the effect. I have built an ARM microcontroller based prototype of this and it is currently in test on a subject . All SenseCam recordings capture temperature, and so you could replay your vacation movie and feel the heat on your neck, or the chill in your spine of your ski trip. Heart "bump" is replicated with another device, a haptic pedant as on right. Other applications for BioSenseCam are as a "black box" data recorder, to aid in medical diagnosis, ThrillChip applications could include possible games , Xbox etc.
The BodyPower image shows power of a few mA conducted through the skin to drive a Light Emitting Diode. Conductive paint is used to replace wires. This is sufficient to power an embedded microcontroller.

This technology may be useful for body mounted sensors where wires may be inconvenient. One example is cordless ear headphones.

See also GEMS project at Microsoft Research Seattle.

ThrillChip V2

My Haptic Heart

Body Power