Future virtual tours will tag the real world

At the recent TechCrunch50 event, Japanese company TonchiDot demoed its new iPhone application called Sekai Camera to wild enthusiasm.

TonchiDot's idea is to use the iPhone camera and location awareness as a mobile information interface. Using the Sekai Camera application, you can tag real-world locations and simultaneously view the tags shared by other users -- TonchiDot calls it "Air Tagging."

It's a heady concept and to really understand how it works, you need to watch this video:

I love their slogan that "Real space is the new interface to the Internet." Kind of mind-blowing when you think about it.

And it brings up obvious applications for real estate. Imagine a real-world property tour (boots on the ground, walking through a home) where you could instaneously access Zestimates or property data, read individual tags on the features in a room, or listen to audio clips describing the amenities through the Sekai Camera terminal.

It's still a few years away, of course. But a very cool glimpse into the future nevertheless.

Originally posted on the Future of Real Estate Marketing. Joel Burslem is vice president of content at Inman News.

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