Evolution Robotics' Image Recognition Technology Powers Mobile Visual Search in Cell Phones

location based services
PASADENA, Calif.-- May 11, 2006 -- Evolution Robotics, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation robotics technologies and component solutions, announced today that Bandai Networks Co. Ltd ("Bandai Networks") is using Evolution Robotics' ViPR(TM) visual pattern recognition technology in their "Search by Camera! ER Search" (ER Search) mobile phone service. Jointly developed by Bandai Networks and D2 Communications, Inc. ("D2C"), ER Search leverages Evolution Robotics' ViPR technology to allow, among other things, users of mobile phones with built-in cameras the ability to make product purchases and get product information simply by taking a photo of images in magazines, shopping catalogs, product packaging, posters and so forth. The ER Search service will be available soon in Japan to NTT DoCoMo customers using the FOMA(R) N902iS. Support for other NTT DoCoMo phones will be added in the near future.

The release of ER Search gives mobile advertisers a more sophisticated way of implementing their cross-platform marketing initiatives. To date, cross-media marketing (connecting mobile devices with magazine, product packaging and/or outdoor advertisements) has predominately been limited to SMS, short-code based campaigns or has required the inclusion of special patterns and 2D barcodes. With ER Search, there are no restrictions on design and layout, allowing marketers to accomplish cross-media marketing with mobile content using regular images of products or company logos. Currently, 10 companies have committed to and many more companies are in the process of deploying ER Search marketing campaigns to take advantage of the rapidly growing mobile market.

ER Search works by using the ViPR image recognition engine integrated with the cell phone to process the image captured by the camera-phone user and then uses the extracted information to look up an extensive database of candidate objects residing on a remote server. The object ID is then used to select the associated content to be sent back to the user's cellular phone. Users can then click the link in the returned content to easily access a mobile site containing detailed product information or, if mobile commerce is available, purchase products directly from their phone without having to type in a product code.

"We strongly believe that image recognition technologies will be a key element not only in robotics, but also in mobile search," said Yutaka Yamamoto, General Manager of the Asia Division of Evolution Robotics. "As such, we are extremely pleased to announce to the public this new service by Bandai Networks, which, to date, is the largest deployment of such solutions. Bandai Networks has done a tremendous job in creating the business case around ViPR technology, bringing together the forces of the leading carrier, handset manufacturer and advertisers."

Evolution Robotics ViPR technology provides a fast, reliable and robust vision solution that truly gives electronic devices the ability to detect and recognize complex visual patterns -- in effect, to see. A ViPR-enabled device can automatically detect and recognize visual patterns using low-end imagers like the ones found in the vast majority of camera-phones. The algorithms that make up the technology are particularly robust and provide an unprecedented level of reliability even with heavy distortions that can be introduced by changes in viewpoint, a wide range of lighting conditions and pattern occlusions. ViPR technology has already been successfully deployed in other robotic products to enable applications like autonomous navigation, fraud detection and target tracking in the consumer, industrial and defense markets.

About Evolution Robotics
Evolution Robotics, Inc. (www.evolution.com) partners with brand leaders to make their products smarter by providing solutions for vision, autonomous navigation and intelligence. Evolution Robotics' mission is to make everyday products smarter through innovation in visual pattern recognition and robotics. The company's technology platform includes ERSP(R), the standard Robotics Operating System; ViPR(TM), the gold standard in visual pattern recognition; and NorthStar(TM), the world's lowest cost localization system for autonomous navigation. Evolution Robotics has provided unique and differentiating functions for products such as robotic toys, robotic vacuum cleaning products and educational robots. The company also develops visual search engine technologies, and partners with mobile service companies to develop mobile marketing and mobile commerce applications for camera-phones. Additionally, the company markets LaneHawk(TM), a loss-prevention solution for retailers that reduces inventory shrinkage, through Evolution Robotics Retail, a subsidiary company. Evolution Robotics is an operating company of Idealab, a creator and operator of technology businesses.