The Bokode is a tiny label, just 3mm across, that can encode visual information, which can then be read using any ordinary camera up to a few metres away.
It is hoped that the label could eventually be used to replace barcodes, amongst other things, and provide nutritional information for the consumer.
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed the technology, which will be presented this August in New Orleans at SIGGRAPH, the computer graphics and interactive techniques show.
Lead author of the paper, Ankit Mohan said: “We’re trying to make it nearly invisible, but at the same time easy to read with a standard camera, even a mobile phone camera.”
Unlike RFID tags, Bokodes require an open line of sight to the card for it to be read.
Prototypes have been developed for about $5 each, but it is believed this can be dropped to as low as five cents when they are produced in larger volumes.
Nokia, Samsung and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation provided grants to support the research.
To watch a video about Bokodes click here
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