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Supermarket LED Lights Talk to Smartphone App

posted by martyb on Monday May 25 2015, @03:48PM   Printer-friendly
from the Aisle-B-Seeing-You dept.

n1 wrote with news of a report at the BBC:

French shoppers have become the first to experience a new LED lighting system that sends special offers and location data to their smartphones.

The technology was designed by Philips and has been installed at a Carrefour supermarket in Lille.

It transmits codes via light waves, which are undetectable to the eye but can be picked up by a phone camera.

The innovation offers an alternative to Bluetooth-based "beacons", which are being installed by many retailers.

[...]Carrefour is using the location data to trigger aisle-specific special offers. If users open a compatible app and let their smartphone camera look upwards, this can be used to determine their location - accurate to up to 1m - and the direction they are facing.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by rts008 on Monday May 25 2015, @05:30PM

    by rts008 (3001) on Monday May 25 2015, @05:30PM (#187660)

    This sounds like it will be too easy, and too fun to resist 'playing games' with.

    I can imagine all sorts of hilarity can be induced. (sending shoppers on wild goose chases, fake treasure hunts, etc.-it boggles the mind!)

    Hell, it may even become a 'reality show', or 'go viral' on youtube.
    *goes to make popcorn...giggling like a schoolboy*

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