Fujitsu develops way to transfer files with video of PC screens shot by mobile devices

Technology Jan. 23, 2013 - 05:23AM JST ( 0 )

KAWASAKI —

Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd on Tuesday announced the development of technology that makes it possible to transfer files between a PC and a mobile device by simply using a mobile phone or tablet to capture a video of a file displayed on a PC screen. The new technology is based on Fujitsu Laboratories’ previously developed intermediary image communications technology, which enables communication between a PC screen and a mobile device by superimposing invisible communications data into images that can be captured by a mobile phone camera.

By superimposing IP addresses and other device-specific information that is invisible to the human eye onto a PC screen in real time, the technology can identify the target PC when the user takes a video of the screen with a mobile phone camera. A communications path between the target PC and mobile phone then gets established and transfers the file displayed on the screen to the phone. This makes it easy to transfer a file with a simple image capture, unlike existing methods that require complicated operations, such as having users search for and select a file from the phone’s file menu.

The technology is expected to lead to a variety of applications, such as forwarding photographs captured on a mobile phone to a PC or enabling multiple users to simultaneously download individual copies of presentation materials to their mobile phones during a meeting by shooting the screen displaying the presentation.