Berkeley student project provides product social/environmental data via cellular barcodes

Three graduate students at the University of California - Berkeley's School of Information are working on a master's degree project for receiving information about a product's social and environmental "status" by taking a camera phone photo of the barcode, according to an article in Smart Mobs.

Here's how the project, iBuyRight (no link because it's password protected), is described:

"iBuyRight is a mobile phone application that displays social and environmental information about a product, enabling consumers to make purchases consciously aligned with their personal values.

"After a product bar code is scanned with a cell phone, iBuyRight retrieves relevant information from a social and environmental issues database, then displays it on the cell phone screen in an easy-to-read format.

"By turning the phone into an access point for product information at the point of purchase, the application aims to fulfill a consumer's need to know where a product comes from, how it is made, and the impact these practices have on the environment and communities.

"By facilitating informed purchases, iBuyRight gives consumers the power to put their money where their values are. "

Comments

[Dave Mathews]

Great, this is just like Mark's Aura project at Microsoft...

http://aura.research.microsoft.com/Aura/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabName=Home