GoPro Project Paper

Introduction

      The GoPro camera was invented in 2002 by an American named Nicolas Woodman. It is a high-definition camera used to capture the most unforgettable moments. According to an interview on Malakye.com of its creator, Nicolas - Nick- Woodman, the idea of creating such a camera first came when Woodman went on a trip to Australia with some friends. Having difficulty to immortalize their surfing exploits from the shore, he started thinking about a super resistant camera that would directly hang to a belt around the surfers' waist, making the pictures look even more intense, clear and real. Although it took time to become recognized, GoPro is today the most used camera in the extreme sports' world, according to an article published in Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. In fact, the author of the article explains that "GoPro makes a small, durable, lightweight (just 3.3 ounces) camcorder and special mounts to attach the device to surfboards, helmets, ski poles, car hoods, or pretty much anything else." He goes on citing an analyst in IDC, named Christopher Chute, who even said that it "may well be the world’s fastest-growing camera company,” as Woodman became a billionaire in the latest years by selling hundred of thousands of cameras. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the GoPro camera works, and its impact on society.

Background
            At the time of its invention, GoPro constituted a real revolution in the cameras world. Indeed, according to Woodman in his interview in Malakye.com, the only way he and his friends had to try to capture their surf sessions when they were in Australia were the waterproof cameras. However, it was not good enough, since they had to keep the camera around their necks, and a lot of time it happened that they lose it or completely miss the picture. Today, even if it has some competitors, like JVC or Sony (PetaPixel), "GoPro remains the best “action” camera on the market, with HD capabilities, a 170-degree wide angle lens, and it only weighs 5 ounces." (Malakye.com).
According to an article published in PetaPixel, there is another action camera that was invented at the time of GoPro, and it is the Contour Camera. For many years, it was one of the main competitors of the GoPro camera. However, the Contour Company had to close its doors on August 2013, while its better-known competitor remains "the king" (PetaPixel) of the cameras market.

How does it work?            According to an article published in Sport Fishing, "the GoPro Hero is sold with a bevy of mounting accessories, as well as a waterproof housing that keeps the camera safe and bone dry." According to another article published in Popular mechanics, when the idea of such a camera first came to Woodman's mind, he was mainly thinking about creating "a wrist strap with a mechanism that pivots the camera out of the way while he was surfing, pop it up for the money shot, and then fold it down again." He wanted it to follow every single movement he made, and without worrying about carrying it or protecting it since it is shock resistant. According to the same article, "GoPros are small, light, and waterproof -- and their signature wide, nearly fish-eye lenses seem to magically make subjects look, well, more heroic than they might otherwise be. That wide lens shoots your knees and skis, or your hands on the handlebars of a bike. The result is a big, immersive, ego-enhancing image. GoPro cameras are structurally designed to flip the traditional relationship of cameraman to subject, aligning it more closely with the way people shoot video in the YouTube era. The cameraman is the protagonist of his own video, and the lens stretches wide enough to fit in both him and the world he is conquering." Surely, this is the reason why the GoPro camera is known as the best "action" camera: because it takes photos at the heart of the action, making them look completely real and alive. In fact, there is an article published in Information Technology Newsweekly explaining that a GoPro comes with "various straps, pivot arms, and adhesive mounts to enable the digital camera to capture images while performing activities such as biking, skiing, skating and kayaking." However, there are different generations of GoPro, going from the HD HERO to the HERO 3+, and depending on the generation it belongs to, a GoPro camera may have different characteristics. Indeed, according to the same article published in Information Technology Newsweekly, the HD Hero2 camera for example "includes only a single image capture system, which captures images using an optical axis directed outward from the 'front' of the camera. This can cause excessive wind resistance and presents a high profile that is more susceptible to damage and image artifacts from vibrations in some situations." Sport Fishing also published an article about the HD Hero 2 saying that it is "twice as powerful as the original." The author of the article goes on specifying: "The HerO2 shoots 1080p HD video and 11-megapixel stills. The camera's new processor delivers the additional power, and the redesigned wide-angle lens takes full advantage, providing ultra sharp imaging. The HERO2 captures up to 10 11-megapixel photos per second and comes with an LCD interface." According to the GoPro website, there is another difference between the old GoPro cameras and the new one and it is that the first ones' battery life was much longer than now.
The camera comes with an USB cable, and so it is easy to transfer the photos to a computer. Also, in order to improve the sound quality, we can change the backdoor of the camera - if we are not going to put it underwater- for another backdoor that has holes in it. There is also a floating backdoor that we can use when we go under water, and that keeps the camera on the surface of water in case we lose it. According to an article published in Bloomberg BusinessWeek Magazine, the HD Hero3 camera even comes with a Wi-Fi remote, to which we can connect it and it allows us to control the camera from distance using an iPhone or Android app.
Potential Benefits
            The GoPro camera constituted a real revolution in the world of photography at the time of it invention. That is mainly because of the fact that for the first time, someone could enjoy an activity without worrying about holding a camera in his hand to take photos. According to an article published in Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine, "GoPro widens the view of its consumers base" by " allowing action-sports enthusiasts to take professional-quality videos." Indeed, the author of the article points out the fact that many of the cameras sold by the company are purchased by "consumers who don't have thrill seeking on their minds," and this is mainly because of the very affordable prices of this unique camera. 

Legal, Social & Ethical Issues
            Ethically, the creation of the GoPro camera encouraged people to start using it in many inventive ways, according to an article published in PetaPixel. Sometimes, this may be dangerous, since some of them may take risks just to record an unforgettable video and then post it on YouTube. Some others also start putting their GoPro on their pets, their dogs for instance. This could be questioned, as it may bother the pet to carry an electronic device all day long. It also may affect its health. The fact that the GoPro camera can be put everywhere makes it become easily invisible. This may be criticized given that it becomes a sort of hidden camera that can constitute an infringement of privacy by taking unconsented pictures. Some people even use it as a security camera. 
            Socially, the GoPro camera may have a bad effect too because as all electronic devices, it detaches people from reality. For instance, some people would be so willing to record intense videos or incredible photos that they would worry more about the virtual side of things instead of living in the moment and enjoying the activity they are doing.
            Legally, there is no privacy. Government can access people's photos and videos as it may access their personal data on the Internet. By connecting the camera to Internet -with the Wi-Fi- the problem even increases and it is getting harder and harder to protect personal information.

Security Concerns            Hacking people is also becoming more and more common, especially now that with the late GoPro model, the camera can be connected to the laptop, or to the phone. Information is becoming very difficult to protect, and the increase of the virtual is affecting people's life by threatening their privacy and so their security.

Further Required Research
            According to an article published in BusinessWeek magazine, one of the next challenges is to "create a software to enable real-time streaming via the smartphone app, so, for example, new dads can share their child's first moments live." On the other hand, with the Wi-Fi remote and the fact that we can now connect the GoPro to a smartphone, there are many different and new ways to use the camera. 
Conclusion            To conclude, the GoPro camera is considered as the best action camera nowadays. Even if there are many other companies which are considered as potential competitors, the GoPro remains the king of the market, and the Woodman Labs are considered as experts when it comes to sport cameras. GoPro has improved a lot since the first time it was invented, and it is becoming easier to take action pictures, but also to have a GoPro camera, knowing that it is not very expensive. On the other hand, it is also easy to use and to carry, as it may be put everywhere, in addition to the fact that it is waterproof and shockproof. Even though it is an electronic device that may affect people's social life, threatens their privacy and their security, it has a lot of benefits. In fact, thanks to GoPro, people from all walks of life have now the opportunity to record action moments, which was something only doable for professionals or rich people. The GoPro Company has been designing since 2010 a new series of GoPro cameras, called HERO. Although the concept remains basically the same, the camera is continuously improving from an edition to another, by becoming lighter and smaller for instance. Lately, it also comes with a Wi-Fi remote that connects it to a smartphone, making it remotely controllable. Finally, it appears that the GoPro Company remains open to all new technologies, and adapts its products to them. This may be one of the reasons explaining the great success of the GoPro camera.