One Shot, One Bitcoin - Bokode Laser Tag?

[Stephen Gornick]

A Bokode is an imperceptible visual tag for camera based interaction from a distance.  Essentially a long-range barcode.

Current optical tags such as barcodes and QR codes must be read within a short range and the codes occupy valuable physical space on products.

Bokode tags can be shrunk to a 3mm visible diameter and unmodified ordinary cameras several meters away can be set up to decode the identity plus the relative distance and angle.

Here's more info:
 - http://video.mit.edu/watch/bokode-imperceptible-visual-tags-for-camera-based-interaction-from-a-distance-4282

My first thoughts were that this would allow a physical bitcoin to have a scannable optical code whereas currently a QR code is too large for the small form factor of a coin.  [update: after reading up, these require an LED and power [update2: or illumination such as from a camera flash] so they are not simply a smaller optical code like I first thought.]

Then I was trying to think how else these might be of use.

I was thinking of laser tag, for instance.  The laser tag gun would have a camera that can scan the bokodes affixed to the players.  The shooter with the best aim and control gets the bitcoin.

Other uses are maybe something where a bitcoin-laden bokode is the incentive to pay closer attention to something.  Like perhaps when trying to awaken an audience by alerting them to the fact that the next slide will have a bokode worth $5 on it and the first to get a scan keeps it.  Or other less lame purposes that I'm not creative enough to consider.

Maybe like what Qriket does for QR codes:
  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC5gGQSjLlg

Anyway, thought I'ld share this.

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[the joint]

Awesome idea to have a scannable, physical bitcoin.  It'd give merchants nice diversity along with the scannable QR codes.

[alkhdaniel]

Wouldnt it be shit-easy to steal these physical bitcoins? aka someone scanning them without your knowledge.

[Stephen Gornick]

Wouldnt it be shit-easy to steal these physical bitcoins? aka someone scanning them without your knowledge.

After reading the wikipedia article, I learned they work different from what I first envisioned.  Uses an LED [update: or a passive bokode that requires illumination like a camera flash].  So that limits how it could be used a bit.  
 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokode
 - http://www.bokodes.org/bokode.html

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Wouldnt it be shit-easy to steal these physical bitcoins? aka someone scanning them without your knowledge.

After reading the wikipedia article, I learned they work different from what I first envisioned.  Uses an LED.  So that limits how it could be used a bit.
 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokode

I'm sure glad nobody will know how big of an idiot I am. I've been researching this Bokode thingy for the past two hours, and it's just now that I learn there's a Wikipedia article on it. Going to read it now, but that LED aspect could be a deal breaker for what I had in mind. During the interim of my research though, I did come across other fascinating things, like graffitigeo.

~Bruno~