We wrote on Extendlimits some several posts about visual search and the bright future is has. Now Microsoft is also stepping into the visual search with a software prototype Lincoln. Lincoln is part of a trend to link the physical world with information on the Web. Also think about
Nokia and
Invisible ink which connects us with the virtual world.
"The main thing we want to do is connect real-world objects with the Web using pictures," Zitnick (Microsoft). "Lincoln is a way of finding information on the Web using images instead of keywords."
The software works by matching pictures taken with the cameras on mobile phones with tagged pictures in a database. The database can be filled by anyone so the researchers hope that the database will be filled with pictures and links to any information. Lincoln can be downloaded for free only using Internet Explorer 6/7, and runs on smart phones with Windows Mobile 5.0 and PocketPCs.
More information:
Technology Review
EXTRA FIELD-5: Microsoft, visual search, mobile, mobiel, Lincoln, zoeken, mobiel internet