This AI 'poetry camera' shoots haikus instead of photos – and that’s way more interesting than megapixels

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An Instax-like camera that prints words instead of pictures

The poetry camera in red and white, in the hand with blue sky backdrop
(Image credit: poetry camera)

A sweeping blue-light commands the view,
Erasing distant sunlit memories.
Tentative fingers tapping at keys,
Surrounded by mugs, piled papers and knotted charging cables.
A chaotic mind dwells here.

If the intriguing 'poetry camera' were in my hand now, that’s the kind of end product it could reveal on its tiny scroll of paper, rather than a pixelated thermal-printed image of my messy desk in a pokey, dimly-lit home office. 

It may well resemble a Fujifilm Instax instant camera, but the poetry camera utilizes AI instead to turn what it sees through the lens (a Raspberry Pi camera module) into a short poem, sonnet, or haiku. It’s essentially a reverse AI image generator, image-to-text if you will, using AI to piece together words from a real-world moment in time. 

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Creators Kelin Carolyn Zhang and Ryan Mather describe the open-source passion project on the poetry camera’s website as a “new way to make memories – away from screens, notifs, and apps” and it's the kind project to warm the heart. 

Ryan Mather has shared videos of the poetry camera in action In Washington Square Park on Instagram through the account @flomerboy (see below), where members of the public have agreed to "have a poetry taken of them". That phrase was enough to reel me in.

Like a cash register, poetry camera proceeds to print out a short, one-of-a-kind singular poem on a receipt-like piece of paper using its internal thermal printer, which is then shared with the group, much to their amusement.

Kelin and Ryan just wanted to "have fun with technology again", and have created the poetry camera using Raspberry Pi components, open source software, OpenAI's GPT-4 and 3D printed the camera body, sharing instructions on how to build your own. For the clued-up, it's possible to modify the kind of poetic forms created.

My word skills hardly compare to those of the GPT-4 AI-powered poetry camera, which puts into practice the 'picture is worth a thousand words' adage – or at least worth a short-form poem glittered with metaphors. 

The makers share monthly updates through their newsletter and those that sign up are the first to know about limited-edition product drops, though there's no indication of what price the poetry camera will be. It's a novel project and a utilization of AI in a camera that I can get behind. 

A novel project
The poetry camera
Prose over pixels

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Timothy Coleman
Timothy Coleman
Cameras Editor

Tim joined the TechRadar team as Cameras Editor in 2023 and has enjoyed more than 15 years as a tech journalist specializing in camera gear. He's previously worked at Amateur Photographer, for a photo accessory manufacturer and as a freelance photographer and video producer, with clients including Studio 44 and Canon. He also started a media team in Nairobi, Kenya, where he lived for a few years volunteering for a faith-based organisation. Tim is married, father of three children, and loves being active, primarily running since hanging up his football boots.