Search is taking another step forward, inching ever closer to stuff of science fiction. Today LTU technologies announced pixlinQ. The mobile visual search platform enables advertisers to link printed ad material to digital content using a mobile device without having to add QR or 2D codes. “With mobile visual search, the trigger and call-to-action can be integrated into the visual itself instead of adding a code that may  not complement the visual message,” says Yanna Sigenlaub, vice president of marketing for LTU.

With pixlinQ, organizations can add the mobile visual search feature to mobile applications and mobile marketing campaigns. This includes an API and SDKs. It also includes a content and analytics platform where clients can upload the content they want to make recognizable with an app and define what they want to display on the users’ phone when they have taken a picture of the content. Once activated, they can use the platform to track user statistics  and monitor the success of their campaigns.

One of the big differences between pixlinQ’s technology and the more familiar QR codes is that, with pixlinQ, users build their own app using the technology (or have LTU build one), rather than simply plugging a QR code into its material and relying on users to recognize the code and use one universal app — or in the case of some devices, native technology — to scan it. This makes me wonder how users will recognize searchable content unless they already know it’s there — which makes me wonder about the practical uses of the technology — and pixlinQ is therefore recommended that the feature is promoted within the app.

La Redoute – a large European catalog company – uses LTU’s mobile visual search to make its entire print catalog interactive. The company has integrated the visual search functionality into its iPhone shopping app. When users browse the print catalog, they can launch the app, take a photo of any product in the catalog and automatically get linked to a page where they can view more details about the product — colors, sizes in stock, and even buy the product.

Don’t take pixlinQ’s word for it, though. Try it for yourself.

Take a picture of the above image using the lookthatup demo app powered by LTU (www.lookthatup.com) or send the picture via email to search@lookthatup.com.