VISUAL SEARCH Eye on the prize


THE PROMISE You’re walking down the street and see someone wearing a pair of shoes you simply must have. You pull out your smartphone, take a photo and immediately see the brand and style — or something very similar — for pur- chase with a single click.


THE PURVEYOR That’s the reality of Slyce’s intelligent im- age recognition soſtware — what it calls the “want engine.” Launched in 2012, the Toronto-based firm developed visual search technology for Neiman Marcus that the luxury depart- ment store’s chief marketing officer proclaimed will “revo- lutionize the [retail] industry.” This past November, Slyce re- leased an app called Pounce featuring the same “snap and


buy” experience as the Neiman Marcus app, but linked to North America’s largest big box stores.


THE PROSPECTS Slyce has raised $28 million and is cur- rently active with six of the top 20 retailers in the world, includ- ing Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy. Last June, it partnered with Screenvision, a US in-cinema marketing firm, to develop apps that would, for instance, allow moviegoers to purchase items they’ve just seen on screen with their smartphones. Other po- tential applications include educational enrichment, such as the identification of plants and animals, or accessing infor- mation on real estate offerings. With Slyce and other visual search technologies, the eyes really have it.


1981 Canadarm


1985 Explosives


vapour detector


1991 Java programming language 1999


BlackBerry


2010 High-pressure direct injection natural gas diesel engine


2011 First


commercially available quantum computer


The Future


and beyond


JUNE/JULY 2015 | CPA MAGAZINE | 39


Courtesy of Slyce NASA/Getty Images


Don Denton/Canadian Press


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