Researchers built a $7 gadget that can find hidden cameras in seconds
KAIST researchers built SweepLED, a $7 smartphone gadget that detects hidden cameras with 94% accuracy in seconds.
Researchers at KAIST have developed a cost-effective hidden camera detector called SweepLED, designed to fit on any smartphone. The device uses an attachable LED case that costs less than $7 to build, which sweeps light from various angles instead of moving the light source and viewing angle together. This method effectively eliminates guesswork, as the reflection of a camera lens differs from other reflective surfaces.
SweepLED records the light sweep as a short video and runs it through an AI model trained to detect lens deformations, achieving around 94% accuracy in identifying hidden cameras within five seconds. Tests on 30 common objects in hotel rooms and rentals yielded promising results, highlighting the device's potential to significantly improve hidden camera detection.
The project, led by Professor Jun Han at KAIST's School of Computing, was presented at ACM MobiSys 2026 and could soon be incorporated into actual gadgets.
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