McDo denies Paris attack on customer

BURGER bar staff at a McDonald's on the Champs-Elysées have been accused of roughing up a Canadian researcher who they claimed was filming them using a new high-tech "bionic eye".

Steve Mann had invented a new augmented reality “computer vision system” to help him get round sight problems and it has been permanently attached to his skull for 13 years.

He used it to read the prices when he went into the McDo at 140 Champs-Elysées on July 1 during a family holiday in Paris.

But, he said on his blog, staff were not happy and complained angrily that he was filming them working. Two approached him as he ate and tried tear off the device, ripped up his doctor's note explaining his vision problem and threw him out the front door.

He complained about what had happened to McDonald's France managment but said he got no response.

Eventually after getting tired of hearing nothing, he posted what had happened on his blog - complete with pictures from the bionic eye.

The blog is widely read as he is considered by some to be the "father" of wearable computing - one fan is Google founder Sergei Brin, who got his own staff to design a new version of Mann's bionic eye.

It prompted a storm of reaction on the web and McDonald's bosses initially reacted by saying they were starting an investigation - before then saying that staff had "treated Mr Mann with respect and politeness" and that staff were entitled to respect with regards to their image

The company put an explanation on its Facebook page which prompted a rain of replies - including suggestions that its "Come as you are" slogan should be corrected to "Come as you are - unless you wear glasses".