Cellphone Transaction - Image Xmit - Scan Confirmation

Applications in motion. Using a special two-dimensional image/symbology, a selling party is able to confirm/identify who the purchasing party is to allow a completion of any type of transaction or access. Image Credit: TD Scan, Inc.

A tested, new technology capability enters the North America marketplace. A technology that has had great success in Europe in the facilitation of transactions on-the-fly has arrived in the form of a scanner that can read images off of a cellphone LCD screen.

Imagine, if you will, being on the road, on business, in a different city, and you find yourself alone for the evening. You find out that the Eagles are in town playing a set of concerts, and you decide to purchase tickets. You are unable to get to a computer to purchase online ... and you do not have a printer even if you were able to get to a wireless connection. What do you do?

From the back of the Cab, you are able to launch a call from your cellphone to the ticket service agency that sells the concert tickets for the concert at that venue for the evening. You purchase the ticket, but now what? How do I get the ticket for the concert ... will call?

Well no! The ticket service agency sends you a confirming barcode type of image to your cellphone that can be displayed on the LCD screen (actually, it is a 2-D matrix type of code that looks like a bunch of squares inside of a large square).

You arrive for the concert with the recorded sounds of "Hotel California" in the background, and you step up to the turnstile. There, on the turnstile, about wrist high, is a window that is emitting a glow. You place the LCD screen of the cellphone over the window and the turnstile releases to let you in for an evening with the boys known as the "Eagles".

How easy does this type of exchange get? In Europe, this process is being used by vending machines to allow people to buy a Coke, a sandwich, or even a box set of CD's. No cash, no ticket, no transaction security or confirmation problems.

This technology can be acquired for a fairly reasonable rate and integrated into most any system. The only question that has to be answered is how soon can we all purchase by cellphone today? It may only be a matter of months before we see venues offer this type of flexibility for the confirmation of your transaction by cell.