Simon Woodside releases semacode URL software for Symbian camera phones

Computer programmer Simon Woodside has released version 1.0 of his semacode software for Symbian/Series 60 camera phones that, in essence, incorporates a URL within a barcode.

You snap a photo of the semacode graphic (left), the URL is displayed and you can click on it to access a Web page without having to laboriously enter the URL on a keypad. Simon has a Weblog that explains in detail the use and creation of semacodes.

Discussing his view of barcodes, Simon writes, "For a long time computer scientists have been looking for a cheap, inexpensive way to create a gate between the real world and virtual world of the internet.

"Semacodes provides such a solution. By means of special symbols, printable by anyone on any printer, and special software, available for camera phones, connections can be built on a wide scale in a totally decentralized fashion."

Using semacodes

Simon's semacode software works with several Nokia camera phones: 3650, 3600, 3620, 3660, 7650, 6600 and 6620. Depending upon the model of your phone, you need one of two browsers: Opera or Doris. Simon provides details on the download page.

So, for those of you who attended the Cameraphone Summit and received a free Nokia 6600 phone, you should be able to test the semacode software.

If you're interested in the business of barcodes and camera phones, you might have already downloaded barcode software provided to Cameraphone Summit attendees from Scanbuy, as I previously wrote.

Barcode business

Camera phones are sparking a huge number of innovative ventures that are trying to leverage the capabilities of cameras in handsets. Many companies are working on products and services in the barcode arena, such as Scanbuy and NeoMedia Technologies.

The Japanese also are working on barcodes. Indeed, Japanese cellular operators already are offering barcode-based services KDDI and Okinawa Cellular have launched barcode applications and NTT DoCoMo also offers services.

Simon says his software works fine with VGA camera phones. Other companies really prefer to use -- or require -- resolutions of at least one megapixel.

Simon's business

Simon says he's promoting semacodes for the fun of it, rather than trying to develop a huge business from it. He also wants to get the technology into the hands of users because he thinks it's genuinely useful.

Users can communicate with each other without using any middleware -- a concept he likes...a lot.

If cellular operators or handset vendors are interested in semacodes, Simon would be glad to speak with them, but making money from his software isn't his priority.

Simon's semacodes versus others

I e-mailed Simon about how he would compare his software to efforts by Scanbuy, NeoMedia and other companies working on one dimensional and two dimensional barcode systems for camera phones. Simon says he began thinking about the concept almost three years ago.

He says:

"They are developing systems that depend on middleware to bridge the gap between the arbitrary number encoded in a barcode and the end resource. Whoever controls that middleware stands to make a lot of money and learn a lot about who's using the system and what they are looking at.

"That's one approach.

"My approach, and I think this is the genius of the semacode system, is to eliminate the middleware. Each semacode encodes a final URL destination and the software can launch that resource directly, be it a web page, a vCard, or an internet service. Like the web, anyone can put up a web page and give out the URL, without paying fees or requiring the approval of any central authority.

"The same is true for semacodes. All of the tools are available now, for free, to do this on my site.

"By eliminating the middleware, I also eliminate barrier of entry and invoke the network effect. Since anyone can use it, the total field of semacodes out there is free to grow as slowly or rapidly as people
would like."

Comments

[akb]

This looks really cool and I especially appreciate the sentiment about controlling the middleware, however I'm not sure its the best approach. UPC is on billions of products and will be around for decades no matter what tech developments take place, its worth supporting. I think it would be more valuable to make software that recognizes standard UPC barcodes along with standards to connect to an arbitrary webservice. That way one could do a price comparison on Froogle and Amazon and maybe a review on Consumer Reports, etc.

Barcr (http://barcr-reader.sourceforge.net/) has an early release of a code that recognizes UPC barcodes for series 60 phones.