Fun_People Archive
27 Jan
ImageID - Where's Waldo?

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 100 10:52:48 -0800
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Subject: ImageID - Where's Waldo?

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CATCH OF THE DAY: Where's Waldo?

PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA -- This one is especially clever.  Here at Upside's
Showcase I met with Moti Shniberg and Elliot Sussman, both of ImageID, a
company that provides technology that can find photos of particular
individuals or items. Each person (or item) wears a small circular sticker
that looks like a disturbed pizza -- the wedges are all different colors.
The color combination acts like a barcode, except it's readable in a
photograph.

What most impressed me is how the company has identified a lucrative market
for its product: the first beta customer is the Miami Seaquarium.  Visitors
wear ImageID stickers, and as they get photographed on rides or by roving
photographers, their snaps go into an image library. Later, a park kiosk
can identify people by their sticker, and then show (and sell) them their
snaps (the park has tripled its sale of photos). Visitors also can buy the
photos after they leave by visiting the park's Web site.  ImageID takes a
cut of the picture sales.

The company has $3.5 million and is raising another round of funding. The
technology also can be used in inventory management, and I'm sure in several
other businesses, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

© 2000 Peter Langston