Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses are presented for generating a photorealistic viewable model using augmented reality (AR). An AR scene is generated by overlaying a virtual object onto a view of a physical environment. When placed into the AR scene, the virtual object can interact with the physical environment by, for example, reflecting or taking on colors, shadows, brightness, and other attributes of the physical environment. To generate the viewable model, the virtual object is manipulated (e.g., moved or rotated) within the AR scene and a plurality of images are generated by capturing the virtual object as the virtual object is being manipulated. The viewable model can be generated based on one or more of the images and can be output in the form of an interactive presentation, for example, a spin image.

Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses are presented for generating a photorealistic viewable model using augmented reality (AR). An AR scene is generated by overlaying a virtual object onto a view of a physical environment. When placed into the AR scene, the virtual object can interact with the physical environment by, for example, reflecting or taking on colors, shadows, brightness, and other attributes of the physical environment. To generate the viewable model, the virtual object is manipulated (e.g., moved or rotated) within the AR scene and a plurality of images are generated by capturing the virtual object as the virtual object is being manipulated. The viewable model can be generated based on one or more of the images and can be output in the form of an interactive presentation, for example, a spin image.

Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses are presented for using cross-domain communication to allow manufacturers and other sellers to use cloud/Internet-based products catalog services without sacrificing the search-engine optimization benefit of catalog pages hosted within the manufacturer's domain. The Same Origin Policy used by many browsers may disallow direct communication to the manufacturer's domain for corporate web site and other functions, on the one hand, and an external domain for an efficiently hosted products catalog, on the other. Some embodiments present the use of the JSONP protocol for cross-domain retrieval of a Catalog Widget that is configured to retrieve product catalog information directly from the external domain. In these embodiments, search-engine optimization is furthered by the efficient production of numerous catalog pages that originate from the external domain yet appear to users and search engine crawlers to be within the manufacturer's domain.

Abstract: Paper catalog pages can be optically scanned to produce “fingerprints” identifying those pages. Database records for products featured on those pages can be mapped to the pages' fingerprints. Later, a customer's mobile phone's digital camera can photograph a paper catalog page. A software application can determine a fingerprint for that page based on the photograph. The phone can transmit this fingerprint over networks to a server. The server can match the transmitted fingerprint to a fingerprint stored in the database. The server can transmit, back to the phone, information retrieved from the database records that are mapped to the matching fingerprint. For example, the information can pertain to current prices and inventories of products featured on the page. For another example, the information can pertain to updated models of obsolete products featured on the page. The phone can present this current, catalog-external information to a customer that took the photograph.

Abstract: Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses are presented for using cross-domain communication to allow manufacturers and other sellers to use cloud/Internet-based products catalog services without sacrificing the search-engine optimization benefit of catalog pages hosted within the manufacturer's domain. The Same Origin Policy used by many browsers may disallow direct communication to the manufacturer's domain for corporate web site and other functions, on the one hand, and an external domain for an efficiently hosted products catalog, on the other. Some embodiments present the use of the JSONP protocol for cross-domain retrieval of a Catalog Widget that is configured to retrieve product catalog information directly from the external domain. In these embodiments, search-engine optimization is furthered by the efficient production of numerous catalog pages that originate from the external domain yet appear to users and search engine crawlers to be within the manufacturer's domain.