A while ago Casio came up with a new approach to sharing data and messages on a mobile device. Instead of a wireless data connection, it uses the camera to read and decode a multi-colored flashing light, not unlike morse code.
And now the company has released a free iOS app that lets you try it out for yourself. PicapiCamera is available now from the iTunes App Store, allowing you to either generate a message, or receive one, by pointing one camera-equipped smartphone at another. Unfortunately, at the moment the technology is limited to only sending the equivalent amount of data as a single 8-bit word, but that can also be a simplified URL which then downloads additional data from an online source.
Besides letting users share secret messages without requiring their devices to be wirelessly connected, Casio hopes the technology could eventually be integrated into advertising, such as billboards, as an alternative to QR codes. The flashing light technology works from afar, and it means an entire group of people with cameraphones can access the message all at the same time. [DigInfo TV]
