Location Lookup
A software that enables users to scan a building/place/area via their camera to find out information, such as name, year built, purpose/use, hours of operation. Similar to applications which allow users to scan a song they hear to find out its name and artist (Shazam), this would enable users to easily get information without needing to find out its name and research it online. This is important for education purposes and general knowledge, and could help people who are unfamiliar with the area and need a quick and easy guide to help them get around and find what they are looking for.
Beneficial to tourists looking to explore an area or find places to visit, eat, shop, but could really be useful to anyone looking for information about a specific place they come across.
The system will utilize the scanning capabilities of phones, as well as resources such as wikipedia and other general information sources to compare a user’s current location and the direction they are facing/the landmark in their camera/scanner with the internet’s knowledge of what exists in that location to retrieve the desired information. Instead of putting an address into maps and finding out the name to then google for more information, the picture will be enough to identify the place and display all of that information without needing to look it up yourself.
The proposal is neither too easy or difficult to tackle because there are definitely similar technologies that exist but for other purposes, such as Shazam for music and the phone scanner for QR codes. Using these existing technologies and the information about individual buildings and places online, this concept could be developed. It is also not too easy because of the various materials it must utilize and the vast amount of information that exists that would all need to somehow be synced together to function as one entity.