Mask Your Identity with 3,000 LEDs

In today’s world, we can hardly expect that our privacy will be protected when we set foot outside of our homes. Between the surveillance cameras found in businesses, doorbell cameras in homes, traffic cameras, parking lot cameras, and so on, it is safe to assume that someone, somewhere is (or at least could be) watching us at all times. That may be a bit unsettling to think about, and it could be far worse than just an annoyance. Oppressive governments, for example, can and do use these networks of cameras to control their citizens and rob them of their freedoms.

Several years back, Sean Hodgins built a mask called Become Anyone that allows its wearer to, well, become anyone. It was a very interesting concept that projected another face — or anything else, for that matter — onto the surface of an otherwise plain white mask. Such a mask has the potential to hide one’s identity in public spaces. However, it was powered by a pretty clunky mechanism. A long pole is attached to the chin of the mask, with a mini projector at the end of it, focusing an image back on the wearer’s face. If you are trying to disappear into a crowd and maintain your privacy, that is not the way to do it.

Hodgins has kept the mask in the back of his mind since it was first developed, and recently came up with a new idea to make it more practical for real-world use. The basic idea behind the new version, called Become Anyone 2.0, is fairly simple, but executing it took quite a lot of effort. The projection system (and the pole) were scrapped and replaced with nearly 3,000 addressable RGB LEDs that cover the surface of the mask. These LEDs can be programmed to display images, or even videos, which eliminates the need for an external source of illumination.

To make Become Anyone 2.0 a reality, Hodgins first 3D-printed a mask for a test fit. Once confident in the design, the surface of the mask was broken up into a set of flat panels. These panels were then turned into PCBs covered with matrices of RGB LEDs. Exposed pads at the edges of the PCBs were included so that they could be soldered together after the panels were assembled into the shape of a mask.

After the assembly of Become Anyone 2.0 was complete, the mask was tested with a Pixelblaze addressable LED controller. This handled mapping of LED locations, which was a nice feature considering the irregular shape of the mask. But after finding that displaying images and videos was quite challenging, Hodgins switched to a Raspberry Pi as the controller. It may not have been super fast at 8 FPS, but that was sufficient for a good experience.

The result looks quite good — even if the resolution is not very high — but the mask may still be better suited for use at a costume party than for preserving one’s privacy. The LEDs are very bright, which attracts a whole lot of attention. If you want to go incognito without drawing so much attention to yourself, you might want to take a look at Freedom Shield.