Layar partners with Telefonica on visual search

Dutch AR firm to enhance the operator’s I+D augmented reality service.

Layar established itself with location-based AR, which invites users to point their camera in a given direction to see overlaid information about buildings, shops and so on.

But more recently, it developed a platform for visual-based AR called IRIS. This works when a user fixes their camera on a marker or real-world image, which is then transformed into a video, game or animation.

Layar says that Visual Search can provide a more natural user experience, permitting it to search through millions of images to identify and correctly augment them on mobile phones.

Now, Layar is working to enhance Spanish operator Telefonica’s tech, I+D, which reveals information about an object just by taking a picture of it.

The object needs no special packaging, tag or marker to achieve this, and therefore can be used on supermarket products, logos, posters or paintings among others.