We’ve seen barcode and image recognition on mobile devices for some time now, but it’s never enjoyed mainstream success due to limitations such as having to download a special app, or use a technology that most devices don’t have currently. With the introduction of “Mobile Visual Search” technology via mobile devices with camera phones, widespread deployment might now be possible.
A company called 23half, which develops contextual information services for mobile phones, has launched Thrrum MMS Search. It’s a service that allows user’s to snap a photo of any text, SMS the photo back to Thrrum, and get relevant information about that text. It’s similar to scanning barcodes and images, but works with any text around you, essentially hyperlinking the physical world to digital content. According to their website;
With m@Thrrum MMS Search, send an MMS of any text that you see around you and receive relevant information on your phone. m@Thrrum MMS Search brings Visual Search to your camera phone through the built-in picture messaging service.
They also offer a Thrrum Visual Browser, that’s available to download directly to your device for $5.99. The benefits to this, are that it provides instant access to recognition of the text, without having to use MMS.
