Skip to main content

Casio PicapiCamera iPhone app is the world's first to use visible light communication technology



PicapiCamera, developed by Casio, is the world's first iPhone app which uses visible light communication technology.
To send and receive data via the app, the message to be sent is encoded using red, green and blue flashing lights and shown on the display. The receiver points their iPhone at the flashing lights and the data is transferred.
"There are two approaches to communication using visible light. One is to embed data in the light from illumination sources, by turning it on and off at high speed, as a natural way of communicating information. With that approach, devices use photodiodes. The other approach involves image sensors. A device that captures light is a camera, so the idea is to relate light obtained by a camera to information. We're using the camera approach - visible light communication through image sensors."
"When exchanging addresses, this system can send addresses to up to five people, rather than just one-to-one."
"If you would like to send your address to someone else, you just net to set it and then send it. This isn't just one on one, you can send your address to up to five people, and you can also receive five addresses at once too."
As the amount of data that can be transferred via the sequence of flashing lights is only a single 8-bit word, and ID number in conjunction with GPS data is used to download the relevant content from a cloud server.
In the future, Casio plans to use this system to compliment digital signage solutions, as it is able to deliver location specific content to users.
"We've asked the server, "What is ID 100 at Makuhari?" The reply "It's this picture" is coming back now."
"The imaging range is about 1 m with a 1 cm diameter. It's hard to read a QR code from a long range, but with this system, the camera only needs to capture a few pixels that make up a block of color. For example, if you can get, say, 30 cm making up a very small part of signage in front of a station, you can send information maybe a hundred meters. So, this system differs from QR codes by having a long range and enabling multiple content downloads."

Posted By Don Kennedy and Ryo Osuga at http://www.diginfo.tv/v/12-0117-d-en.php

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nine government sites hit by cyber attacks: NIC

The National Informatics Center (NIC) has revealed that as many as nine government websites were defaced by recent cyber attacks. The center further said that the servers, which hosts these government sites, suffer a number of hacking attempts on a daily basis. The websites www.kumbh2010haridwar.gov.in, www.ueppcb.uk.gov.in, www.gov.ua.nic.in/ujn, www.cdodoon.gov.in, www.arunachal.nic.in,www.bee-india.nic.in, www.civilsupplieskerala.gov.in, www.mpcb.gov.in and www.informatics.nic.in were  defaced , prompting authorities to  ramp up  the cyber security safeguards. In an RTI reply, the NIC, which reports to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, said that it was impossible for the body to accurately quantify these attacks but they are usually blocked by security controls put in place. The Ministry was asked to provide details of hacking attempts made on the governments websites in the last ten years (2001-11) along with url names of the portal...

Google and Stanford early adopters of Honda Fit EV

Honda's first all-electric vehicle is hitting the streets a little early. The  Honda Fit EV  debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2011, and it's expected to be     available for lease this summer. However,  Honda announced  that Google and Stanford University got a special early delivery of the tiny EV this week.The Honda Fit EV is equipped with a 20kWh lithium ion battery, and has an EPA estimated driving range of 76 miles. Google added the EV to its  car -sharing service for employees, dubbed the G-Fleet, in    Mountain View, Calif. The search giant maintains several electric and plug-in vehicles that it uses for research and to cart Googlers around town and between buildings on campus. Stanford University also is an early adopter of the Fit EV, but will be using it primarily for research. The university's automotive research department will study the difference in psychological and physical reactions of using battery...

Solar car hits U.S. in round-the-world jaunt

Last October, the SolarWorld GT solar-powered car set out from Darwin, Australia on a drive around the world. It has since driven 3,001 kilometers (1,865 miles) across Australia, logged 1,947 km (1,210 miles) crossing New Zealand and been shipped across the Pacific Ocean. This Friday, it will embark on the U.S. leg of its journey, as it sets out across America from the University of California, Santa Barbara.   The SolarWorld GT is the result of a collaboration between solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld, and Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany. The four-wheeled, two-door, two-seat car gathers solar energy through photovoltaic panels built into its roof, with its solar generator offering a peak performance of 823 watts. Custom hub motors are located in both of the front wheels. The vehicle manages an average speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), with a claimed top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). In order to demonstrate that solar powered cars needn't be a radical...