Internet of Recognition (IoR)

IoR is a carefully instrumented partnership between cameras and software that can interpret moving and static images.

Jul 16 2016

Imagine, as you’re barreling up the I-15 toward Vegas in your new Tesla Model S. You pass by an obscure camera.

Seconds later - there it is - a giant high-res digital billboard with a personalized invitation from Wynn Resorts directed at you.

Enjoy a complimentary steak dinner, $500 in match-play, and a special Tesla valet who will detail, charge and attend to your beautiful automobile.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way - if you own a Tesla, you’ll likely appreciate Steve Wynn’s idea of great entertainment and dining. Identifying and targeting highly cherished customers is every marketing executive’s dream.

What isn’t so obvious is how the Internet of Recognition makes this and many other scenarios like it, both possible and commercially practical — TODAY.

Intelligent Billboards, Just the Beginning

IntelliScape has successfully deployed intelligent vehicle recognition billboards in the US, Australia, and in other countries. Many of the implementations are “pilots”, intended to prove a basic concept - that:

High-precision targeting based on vehicle recognition is a game-changer.

PosterScope and Lamar, forward-thinking early adopters of IoR, consider their use of intelligent billboards as “pilot programs” such as this one in Chicago.

Hey, you in the Altima! Chevy billboard spots rival cars, makes targeted pitch.

But referring to these IoR instances as pilots is simply a formality; the appetite for IoR technology is voracious as top brands attempt to find new and precise ways to compete more effectively.

The advantages of digital billboards are emerging rapidly, and by 2020, there will be 3.5 times as many digital billboards as there are traditional (or static) billboards.

Transforming billboards into IoR devices changes the aspect of advertising from a traditional monologue, into a dialogue. The car’s year, make, model, and even color convey useful details about its occupants. We can also derive demographic attributes by observing direction of travel, weather conditions, and the presence of a ski or bike rack. The dialog continues as we shape the marketing message to fit observed attributes, reflecting back at passers-by, a relevant advertisement - and all in about 1 second.

Billboards Big and Small

And while a huge industry in and of itself, digital billboards are the tip of the IoR℠ spear. Imagine the immense marketing possibilities in shopping malls and pedestrian locations where IoR℠ devices may also be able to pick out women carrying Coach handbags, or college-aged coeds wearing sports attire.

With modest investments in high-res cameras and interpretation software, digital signs spring to life with new value propositions for marketers along with dramatic improvements in precision market analytics.

In the past it was great if advertisers could get the number of vehicles passing a given billboard during an annual survey. Now it’s possible to know details about every passer-by and in real-time.

Imagine stepping up the KFC Five Dollar Fill Ups lunch promotions on nearby billboards from 10:30a to 1:30p, but fine tune the promotion to only display the ads to people driving Chevys, Fords, and Kias.

See What We’ve Never Seen Before

IoR is a carefully instrumented partnership between cameras and software that can interpret moving and static images. Both dimensions - cameras and recognition software - are advancing at unprecedented rates. IntelliScape has mastered the science of camera positioning for optimal vehicle recognition performance. But there are many aspects to a successful billboard installation including visual angle of the camera, traffic speed, and number of lanes.

Canon continues to introduce new camera technology which allow us to see at night just as well as we see in daylight hours. High ISO cameras paired with advanced video analytics and recognition systems will soon transform security and marketing capabilities.

Advances in high ISO capabilities eliminate low-light challenges and transform the usefulness of video recognition and analytics. It’s now possible to leverage IoR devices day and night.

Full Disclosure

I recently joined the IntelliScape team as an information architect. And despite some of the amazing things we’re building to capture and transform IoR data into insightful observations, I’m amazed at how innovative and adaptive our clients are becoming with these advanced tools and services.

If you have any ideas for using vehicle and face recognition in marketing or security climates, please drop me a note; I’d love to hear your idea.