During our research phase, we found that people do not like having exposed camera on computers. Some people leave the camera exposed, some purchase a 3rd party privacy slider, and others simple tape over the camera to ensure privacy. This was a concern that we needed to address. Our first iteration had an external magnetic slider for users to manually block the camera when not in use. The concept was to move the slider on a hidden rail, so users could not misplace the item. There were mechanical limitations that prevented this from being implemented.
Our final design simplifies the built-in camera. The monitor does not have anything physically covering the camera, which allows the design to stay minimal. When the integrated camera is on, the lens is visible and a white status light is shown. When the lens is closed, an internal slider covers the camera lens and the status light turns red before turning off. The physical camera slider on top of the monitor allows users to manually turn the camera off. There is also an option of turning the camera off using the OSD software.
