14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Ericsson is reported to have applied for a patent for a camera of the future, called “CAMERA DICTIONARY BASED ON OBJECT RECOGNITION.” Basically, users are enables to take different pictures of foreign objects with their cameras and then gather all kinds of information about that object, including its name or origin without putting too much effort into it.
Although this could be seen as rather futuristic to some, the company has already applied for a patent, which means that work is done and that we might see cameras sporting this feature in a short while. This would also mean that cameraphones to include built-in image dictionaries are also likely to be spotted in the not too far future.
According to Sony Ericsson’s patent, the object recognition feature is expected to work easily and simply, the way anyone would expect. Users will only have to point their camera to the “target object” and capture a snapshot of it, and the software will do the object recognition so as to offer a corresponding text string that will be displayed on the screen.
At the same time, the software also offers the option of storing the text string (which could be the object's name) instead of displaying it. In addition, it seems that there will be a list of user-selectable languages offered for those who would use other languages than English. Complemented by geo-tagging, this feature could provide users with a handy way to add useful information to their digital shots, also allowing them to share more detailed memories with their friends.
As you can imagine, it could take a while before we'll be able to get our hands on a cameraphone that includes this feature as well. Nevertheless, we're hoping that Sony Ericsson will announce any further advancements it manages to make in the area.