{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/phone-camera--family-text-codes","type":"mechanic","id":"phone-camera--family-text-codes","lang":"en","title":"Text, pictures and machine codes","summary":"The camera turns visible symbols into data. Seeing AI’s Product mode uses audio guidance to help aim the camera at a product barcode.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/phone-camera--family-text-codes/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/phone-camera--family-text-codes.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/phone-camera--family-text-codes.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Phone camera interactions","Mechanics catalog"],"sourceIds":["source-be3a720631e14f08","source-b165cb442deaec4e","source-334fc4874b474465","source-5cd7e7e00e5de5a7"],"sources":[{"id":"source-be3a720631e14f08","title":"ML Kit Text Recognition v2: supported scripts","url":"https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/vision/text-recognition/v2","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-b165cb442deaec4e","title":"ML Kit Barcode Scanning","url":"https://developers.google.com/ml-kit/vision/barcode-scanning","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-334fc4874b474465","title":"ARCore Augmented Images","url":"https://developers.google.com/ar/develop/augmented-images","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-5cd7e7e00e5de5a7","title":"Seeing AI","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seeing-ai/id999062298?uo=4","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The camera translates visible signs into discrete commands. OCR depends on the writing and the quality of the frame. ML Kit Text Recognition v2 lists Latin, Chinese, Devanagari, Japanese, Korean; For the Cyrillic alphabet, a different approach with proven support is needed."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-text-codes-variants\"></a>\n\n- The printed word. Action: Read a word from a card, sign or page and apply it as a command. Application: Language game, word hunt, password search. Technologies: Text recognition. <a id=\"variant-cam-057\"></a>\n- Number or expression. Action: Read numbers in the prepared format and check the condition. Application: Arithmetic, digital lock, tasks with real price tags. Technologies: Text recognition. <a id=\"variant-cam-058\"></a>\n- Handwriting on paper. Action: Write a symbol or word; camera recognizes limited alphabet. Application: Teaching writing, paper console, answering without touching the screen. Technologies: Recognition or machine learning model; Own algorithm. <a id=\"variant-cam-059\"></a>\n- QR as a trigger. Action: Scan a code containing the identifier of an item, task or session. Application: Quests, museum routes, starting a level. Technologies: Code recognition. <a id=\"variant-cam-060\"></a>\n- Product barcode. Action: Turn the packaging code into a key for a local table or generator. Application: Collecting, household roguelike, sorting. Technologies: Code recognition. <a id=\"variant-cam-061\"></a>\n- Fiducial marker. Action: Show geometry label; its ID, angle and size set the parameters. Application: Physical controller, figurine positioning, laboratory. Technologies: Markers. <a id=\"variant-cam-062\"></a>\n- Image key. Action: Point the camera at a pre-prepared poster, page or illustration. Application: A book that comes to life, an advertising quest, a museum layer. Technologies: Markers; AR spatial tracking. <a id=\"variant-cam-063\"></a>\n- Optical sequence. Action: Read changing frames or light states from another screen. Application: Game code transmission, device connection, visual protocol. Technologies: Image analysis; Own algorithm. <a id=\"variant-cam-064\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Games, learning, creativity and interactive applications. Author's systematization of game rules based on proven technical capabilities. Examples are application ideas and not statements of released products."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"phone-camera","id":"family-text-codes","title":"Phone camera interactions","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/phone-camera/#family-text-codes","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Text, pictures and machine codes","description":"The camera turns visible symbols into data. Seeing AI’s Product mode uses audio guidance to help aim the camera at a product barcode.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/input-seeing-ai-2.webp","width":720,"height":1280,"crop":{"x":90,"y":280,"width":540,"height":940},"game":"Seeing AI","sourceUrl":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seeing-ai/id999062298?uo=4","originalUrl":"https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource211/v4/0c/43/4d/0c434dca-3f16-3c9d-dbfa-3a6bf7481ffd/e94945ac-96c2-4193-91c0-b508e51d97ce_iPhone8_Product-en.jpg/720x1560bb.jpg","credit":"Microsoft Corporation","rights":"Imagery © Microsoft Corporation. Developer-distributed screenshot or frame; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Seeing AI: aiming at a barcode in Product mode","alt":"Seeing AI: aiming at a barcode in Product mode","markers":[{"x":51,"y":70,"label":"The barcode must be fully visible and clear enough"}]},"tips":["Check supported codes and scripts as well as camera quality."],"examples":[{"title":"Seeing AI","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/seeing-ai/id999062298?uo=4"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/phone-camera"}}