Recognising a new start-up niche

Advertisers are developing digital posters that will recognise people’s faces and respond if they are paying attention.

Cameras attached to the billboards will scan to see if passersby are looking, and immediately change their display to keep them watching.

The technology is so sophisticated it could soon even be possible to link the posters to a store’s profile of an individual and display goods that would specifically appeal to them.

The posters recall a famous scene of 2002 sci-fi thriller Minority Report in which Tom Cruise walks past a row of digital signs that scan his retina and display holograms of products he likes.

The Barbarian Group, a digital services and creation company based in the United States, is hoping to introduce billboards that respond if you are paying attention, while other companies have spoken of introducing technology that recognises faces.

Recognition technology has been around for years but it is only now heading to the shops because it is more affordable. Could your business set itself apart by using this type of technology, or could your business even be the one to offer it?