Haven’t we always wished that pictures could speak for themselves? Our wishes can now be turned into reality! ‘Labels That Talk’ ( from Kailua Hawaii) presents a software that would allow customers to print high-density bar codes on strips of paper that store recorded voice messages!
If the paper is scanned with any cheap handheld scanner ( or the built-in scanner of a cell phone), a message is played back — sounds cool! According to the president and founder Ken Berkun, the paper-strip seen in the picture can hold about eight kilobits. This is enough for a ten-second voice message. Researches are on to increase this time limit. Berkun said,
We’re trying to get it to twenty seconds.
Explaining how he had come up with the idea for this company, Berkun said,
The software would make mementos come alive with sound. Another potentially large market for this software lies in pharmacies and hospitals, which would also put the label of the company on medicine bottles. Hence, from now on, every time one goes for a Paxil, he can hear Mick Jagger sing ‘You go running to the shelter of your mother’s little helper’ via the plastic prescription vial.I have a daughter and I have photo albums.
A similar software, Memory Spot, is being worked upon by Hewlett-Packard. Memory Spot is a sticker that contains a NAND flash chip. Videos or additional pictures can stored in Memory Spot prototypes, that contain 256 kilobits to 4 megabits. Pictures and videos on Memory Spots can be beamed to a cell phone or a nearby computer, via an integrated networking device.
Chips will remain more expensive than paper in future, even though flash costs are going down. According to estimations by HP, Memory Spots could cost ten to fifty cents if and when they come out, making them much more expensive than labels. Experiments with talking bar codes by other companies have generated bar codes that contain canned messages from a vendor.
‘Labels That Talk’ is currently concentrating on making the software and selling it to consumers and printer makers and is also trying to line up partners to make scanners. The company is also already in discussion with some cell phone makers.
Although there is a lack of start-ups like Labels That Talk out of Hawaii, the scenario could change in future. According to Ira Ehrenpreis, a partner of Technology Ventures, it is one of the final untapped geographies for start-ups. In the last few years, Ehrenpreis’ company has made a couple of clean energy and medical deals. Berkun said that in-state tech companies benefited from the somewhat generous tax credits offered to them by the state.
Source: crave
