Smart Links | HyperTags

Article under review. Last revision: January 3, 2025.

Link to pdf version

This document highlights some aspects and possible applications of the patent entitled "System and method for the selective processing of web content", already valid in the USA (https://patents.google.com/patent/US11165738B2), and recently also in the UK and most EU countries (https://register.epo.org/application?number=EP18812311), as well as India. The document integrates what has already been expressed in the descriptive part of the patent. For brevity and clarity, the patent terms and definitions are restated as follows.

Definitions (WHAT)

“Smart Link” is intended here as a new type of digital information access node that includes the following properties:

- name or title: a representative text string, with spaces and symbols, registered by a particular user account

- associated content: a selection or collection of digital content from one or more applications, channels or platforms, accounts or information sources, curated by the account registering the Smart Link

- uniqueness or ease of identification: a Smart Link can be unique or univocally distinguishable in a given application context or proximity domain, or by means of hierarchical relationships between Smart Links, and can be made recognizable through identifiers such as symbols (e.g. ">") or any pre-set image or icon.

By analogy with the conventions of social networks, where “@” indicates a channel or an account (in general a source of content) and “#” a hashtag, "HyperTag" is intended here as a Smart Link that begins with the symbol “> ” and which is used in a search field or in a post, for example the string “> my smart link”. A HyperTag can act as a collector of specific contents between various "@" type sources.

Smart Links can be used to create connections between various physical and digital contexts, so they can have a "phygital" nature and can be found in "visual" and "non-visual" formats in: printed labels, business cards, name tags, clothing, publications, handwritten blackboards, signs or advertising displays, images captured by smartphones or smart glasses, snapshots, videos, light signals, audio or voice clips, sounds or music, television broadcast titles, social posts, etc. Smart Links can also act as triggers for specific content or actions in augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR) applications, hence the adjective "sMARt". In other words, Smart Links can provide a seamless integration of physical and digital worlds. In this sense they allow to use natural text, with its semantic value (e.g. meaning of words, connections as in social networks and maps, etc.), instead of QR codes.

Smart Link core features:

• Text-based triggers for curated multi-channel digital content that can be updated on the fly (a bit like merging Google Lens and Google Saved/Interests).
• Seamless integration between digital and physical contexts.?
• Allow to use natural text instead of QR codes.
• Expressive links free from URL rules, e.g. “My Smart Link” or “> My Smart Link” (icons, symbols or spaces allowed).
• Multimodal links: can be found in images, photo galleries, assisted search toolbars, context or location-dependent catalogs, audio or voice input, etc.
• AI-powered quick recognition via smartphone, smart glasses, etc, even at considerable distances.
• Complementary and integrable with many apps and technologies (e.g. Smart TV, Augmented Reality, AI agents). Usable even without installing apps.

Use cases and advantages (WHY)

Smart Links allow to share and connect digital content selected from different sources of information between various physical and digital contexts, multiplying the opportunities and ways of accessing, using, spreading and giving value to the content, and adding further levels of engagement and personalization of the user experience.

Smart Links can be used in a wide range of situations, and can be complementary to QR codes in cases of space, aesthetic and communicative impact needs. In many cases, Smart Links can be perceived as more "natural", attractive and reliable than QRs, also considering the growing phenomenon of "quishing". Smart Links can also be transmitted via Bluetooth or particular audio frequencies, and can also be helpful for the visually impaired.

Smart Link general advantages

• User-Centric: prioritize the user experience through aesthetic integration, ease of discovery, and accessibility across diverse abilities (e.g. audio / voice capture, suitable for visually impaired people or speaking interfaces)
• Vs QR codes: unobtrusive, aesthetically pleasing, easily harmonized or embedded, better expressiveness and communicative impact; adaptable layout in prints, labels or displays; better tolerance to warping or fading, can be recognized from various angles and distances; do not require accurate timing in video editing, do not disturb the flow of information; anti-quishing.
• Vs BLE beacons and NFC: trigger position-specific content with greater granularity, even at a certain distance from objects and artefacts.
• (web)AR: trigger Augmented Reality experiences for any target app without mismatch errors, even when usual markers or methods are not suitable (intrusive markers, barely distinguishable images, unusable GPS, etc)
• Power of semantic value: cross-application connections, collections or insights based on user experience or position, curated thematic trails around specific themes, etc. High text recognition efficiency, even handwritten (white or black boards, creations, artefacts, etc)
• Valuable organization and sharing of content and knowledge: easy "save for later" and quick access to useful content with just a few taps, e.g. via photo gallery; easy and “elegant” multi-channel and multi-device sharing; easy link management in speaking interfaces, e.g. in combination with AI agents.
• Future-proof: the evolution of vision-based apps and devices will further improve the user experience.

By way of explanatory examples, some possible use cases are reported below, imagining that the following integrated digital applications exist, in which the Smart Links act as multimodal connectors between applications, or cross-application links:

• H-Tube: video sharing platform, similar to YouTube, TikTok, etc.
• H-Social: social media, or messaging application with groups and channels, similar to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X/Twitter, Linkedin, Whatsapp, Telegram, Discord, etc.
• H-Scan: app for recognizing text and Smart Links from images, videos, audio input; similar to Google Lens, Apple Live Text, Samsung Bixby Vision, etc, or a tool integrated into the software for cameras of smartphones, smart glasses, smart windshields, transparent laptops or tablets, etc. It can also be an integrated component in the toolbar or search field of other apps, websites, etc.
• H-Collector: app or tool to create and share content collections from multiple channels or sources, similar to Google Saved (or Interests or Collections), Mozilla Pocket, Padlet, Facebook or Instagram Guides or Collections, Microsoft Bing Collections, other social media aggregators, etc.
• H-Maps: digital map app similar to Google Maps, etc.
• H-Browser: browser similar to Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc, or browser extension.
• H-AI: AI agent similar to Google Gemini or NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Claude, Meta AI, Grok, etc.

Example 1 - digital creators, makers, manufacturers, streamers

Example 1.1 - single platform audience

A science communicator and H-Tuber organizes a tour of physical events to promote his latest book "Light in the dark". The roll-up that accompanies the author's performances clearly shows the H-Tube icon followed by his HyperTag "> Light in the dark: reviews", which refers to a collection (playlist) of previous reviews, fan comments and exclusive interviews by other influencers about the book, published on the author's H-Tube channel, but not immediately visible among the many other videos. The connection between H-Tube content closely related to an object and the object itself in a live context can increase both views on the H-Tube platform and the level of fan engagement and incentive to purchase the book. H-Tube users can instantly find the content selection by typing "> Light" in the H-Tube search field (where the ">" symbol acts as a pre-filter for Smart Links) or via an H-Tube image capture tool.

Similarly, a manufacturer of household appliances can print the H-Tube icon followed by the HyperTag "> TBM: your videos" on the package of the product "The Bread Machine", associated with a playlist of videos shared by the community and approved by the manufacturer. Buyers of the product can then easily find practical and useful examples on H-Tube, saving a lot of time for searches.

Example 1.2 - multiple platform audience

The creator and streamer named “Ailon” can register the Smart Link "Ailon’s ML insights: ep. 3" on H-Collector and associate (add) to it a selection of his videos on H-Tube and other resources or promos. Ailon can show the Smart Link as a subtitle during a live streaming on H-Tube and other platforms. The content selection can be changed on the fly at any time, even long after the streaming has ended. H-Tube users who watch that video can quickly and directly access the content related to the Smart Link through a built-in tool such as “share snapshot with H-Scan”. This way, Ailon can easily and accurately synchronize multiple “elegant” and flexible links with the video in a live streaming to multiple platforms, including call to actions or ADs, without resorting to invasive QR codes overlays, or further video editing, regardless of the URLs.

Example 2 - influencers, opinion leaders, political figures, news agencies

A social network (H-Social) that is a reference point for news or public figures can integrate the above-mentioned functions in a single app: definition of Smart Links, dynamic association of collections of social posts (H-Collector), retrieval of corresponding HyperTags in the search field or Smart Link scanning via camera or gallery (H-Scan). Thanks to this combination, H-social accounts (pages or profiles) can easily group social content into specific themes and topics, or seamlessly create “sub-accounts” as secondary sources of the same account, reusing and revitalizing even past content with otherwise forgotten comments and reactions, and increasing the discoverability and visibility of their content.

For example, a political figure named "B. Lincoln" can register the Smart Link "Space economy: my POV" on H-Social and associate it with a collection of posts about the space economy (e.g. posts with the hashtag #spaceconomy or other selection criteria). If the scope of the Smart Link is limited to the page account, the HyperTag "> Space economy: my POV" within a post written by the author "B. Lincoln" calls up the dynamic content collection chosen by the author. If the scope of the Smart Link is extended to the entire H-Social, a HyperTag such as "> B.Lincoln on Space Economy" can be used in the search bar, or in a post by any H-Social user, or via the smartphone camera or photo gallery (H-Scanner) to call up the content collection from live broadcasts, talk shows, interviews, other live contexts.

As in the following example, news broadcasters can display H-Social Smart Links or HyperTags between subtitles as links to corresponding collections of selected content.

Example 3 - text links in TV broadcasts or large displays

Through Smart LInks a television network named “BCN” can make the viewer experience more engaging and consistent across different platforms and applications (apps, websites, Smart TVs, social media, etc). The TV network can register Smart Links and show them between the titles or subtitles of some broadcasts such as breaking news, scientific news, sporting events or cultural talk shows, as links to insights or exclusive (promo) content. For example, the Smart Link “> Latest news from Euclid” displayed as a title can link to a selection of H-Tube videos or H-Social posts about the Euclid scientific mission, as well as related web articles (e.g. all articles tagged “Euclid mission” on the BCN’s website). The selection is curated by the network's editorial team via H-Collector or dedicated functions of the network's app, and is quickly accessible by the users of H-Scan or of the network's app or toolbar who frame the text "Latest news from Euclid", e.g. via camera or photo gallery for "save for later" purposes. Smart Links can also be encoded via audio and captured by users' smartphones via microphone. In a cultural TV talk show the Smart Link "> BCN: latest debate stats", shown in the subtitles during the broadcast, can point to polls or survey results on H-social that the network community can comment on, or Smart Links can be activated for live and dynamic fact checking. Smart Links can work the same way if seen by users of H-Tube or other social networks. In comparison, QR codes would require more display space and careful timing and video editing. A similar level of interaction would be more cumbersome to achieve via Smart TV remote controls.

Smart Link specific advantages

• Streamline the synchronization of links with videos regardless of the media channel or platform.
• Empower viewers to seamless interactions between full screen and "second screen" displays (e.g. "save for later" logic by scanning screenshots from the smartphone photo gallery). Get more user-centric insights.
• Can be displayed within titles or subtitles instead of the usual QR codes or URLs, with much more flexibility in space, timing and communication effectiveness.
• Convey calls to action, mini-intrusive relevant ADs (e.g. including value propositions) or insights (e.g. fact checking in political debates), offering a less disruptive and more engaging experience.
• Repurpose (micro)content across multiple platforms (social media channels, main website, app, etc), enhancing the discoverability, lifespan and value of content.
• Make the TV experience interactive and engaging in many broadcasts, not just in major events, both for individual viewers and groups. Create consistent connection points between different content offerings and programs.

Advertising companies can improve the impact of their ads in roadside billboards. Often QR codes on billboards or displays are too bulky, and the visual impact of many large QR codes on the street may not be so attractive. Smart Links integrate more naturally with surrounding graphics and are detectable effectively even at considerable distances and different viewing angles.

Similarly, in sports stadiums, Smart Links can appear on courtside or giant displays.

Example 4 - augmented or mixed reality

Smart Links enable a consistent, fast, lightweight, and seamless launch environment for more rich and complex AR scenarios or experiences.

Smart Links can act as triggers for AR / WebAR experiences when QR codes are invasive or unusable, or geolocation is ineffective, or when different markers would be too similar (e.g. product labels that differ little from each other, such as in flavors or varieties in showcases). The selection of the search domain (sets of context-dependent Smart Links) can be done in just a few taps by activating GPS, filtering by category TAG, cross-references, etc. Smart Links can therefore be effectively integrated with digital asset catalogs of museums or outdoor art installations.

During sporting events in full-screen broadcasts (TV, public large displays…) some titles (even scrolling ones) could show, without disturbing the information flow, short value propositions and Smart Links to AR experiences of products relevant to the context.

Smart Link specific advantages

• Fast, precise, finely granular, non-invasive triggers for any digital content (e.g. AR scenarios), respecting the aesthetics of monuments, settings and artefacts.
• Specialized in text recognition (including relationships, hierarchies, etc)
• Flexibility to trigger content where image tracking might be less practical (e.g. digital assets not overlaying real ones, street advertising, etc)
• Complementary to existing tech, Integrable in website search bars or toolbars, digital asset catalogs of virtual tours (e.g. multilingual audio guides, thematic trails, etc)
• Time and weather proof signage, application-independent.
• Multimodal links (audio frequencies, light signals, etc), better user inclusiveness.

Example 5 - small businesses, integrated local development

Many small businesses do not have a structured e-commerce or website for their products but only profiles or social pages, with scattered information about the products. For these businesses that do not sell homologated products, Smart Links represent an opportunity to increase the added value of the products with time and cost savings. Smart Links are a practical and flexible alternative to QR codes (or other RF devices) for narrative labels, and can help small businesses to comply with regulations for information on the label (e.g products in the launch phase). Smart Links can be “integral parts” of products and creations, rather than “foreign bodies” like QRs.

For example, niche agrifood products are displayed frontally in a shop window (or at a local farmer’s market), the QR codes are not visible as they are placed on the back of the packages. The farmers can register Smart Links with their product names, and choose via H-Collector which specific “fresh” content (videos, social, webAR, etc) to show to H-Scan users who frame product names on packaging, or who pronounce them (even in part) as audio input. The farmers can add information such as TAGs and georeferences to the Smart Links to allow the Smart Links to be found in dedicated H-Maps, as a complement to the usual points of interest, and to give value to their products as local resources, together with other typical dishes or recipes represented by dedicated Smart Links. On the handwritten blackboards displayed in restaurants, tourists can find Smart Links for typical dishes and products, quickly accessing relevant information and cultural curiosities. Similarly, city administrators or local promotion institutions can register Smart Links with useful and integrated information for tourists, which can also be found in dedicated H-maps or in many other ways since Smart Links can have mutual relationships like in social networks.

Similar considerations can be made for handicrafts or prototyping (e.g. selections of digital content on the work behind the scenes), from the perspective of a local development system involving multiple stakeholders.

Example 6 - multimodal links (hospitals, museums, airports)

Administrators of complex buildings such as hospitals can register Smart Links to allow visitors to obtain information about the facility and its services in a fast, easy, assisted way, and to obtain time-proof, integrated and flexible signage management.

Smart Links can be registered to provide department information and logistical guidance in multiple languages, integrating visual and non-visual Smart Links (e.g. audio or Bluetooth) to minimize physical contact with objects and make Smart Links usable even at a certain distance from the source. Non-visual Smart Links can be helpful for visually impaired people, in combination with audio reading apps or speaking interfaces. The Smart Link sources can be placed in strategic locations throughout the hospital, such as intersections, corridors and waiting rooms, and can be coded to provide information to visitors based on their precise location (on the other hand imagine the discouraging effect of a place full of QR codes). This is useful in circumstances where several precise links to specific information are appropriate rather than one QR link to a container document or application in which to search again for the specific information (e.g. building safety and logistics information).

Similarly it could be done for airports or museums, with the related contents for artistic installations.

Example 7 - combination with AI agents

Smart Links information nodes can make interactions with AI agents even more direct and effective, e.g. via voice interfaces (NLP, natural language processing). Thinking of AI agents as investigators, Smart Links can act as curated and shared clues, compasses or maps to effectively finalize the search. The AI agent output can take into account the Smart Link information nodes in input, assuming the AI agent can access the database of Smart Links and their associated content.

Professors, teachers and researchers can use Smart Links in combination with AI agents to define and submit collections of sources to be analyzed, saving time and making teamwork more efficient. For example, two researchers need to report on their work at a meeting in person that they are about to reach by walking, and have little time available to prepare a summary. A researcher says to the colleague: << I have prepared a collection of scientific material to submit to H-AI for a first overview, it is available via the Smart Link “Project Osiris first results” >>. The colleague then asks the H-AI agent: << summarize the materials linked to the Smart Link Project Osiris first results >>. The words “Smart Link” here have the same function as the “>” symbol of the previous examples, that is, a pattern to mark the presence of Smart Links. The H-AI interface recognizes the Smart Link "Project Osiris first results" to which the content selected by the researcher via H-Collector is linked, and proceeds as expected to process the summary to be used in the meeting.

An article on voice-based Smart Links is available at this link: https://lnkd.in/gwse_Bsf

More information

This article is currently being updated.

Link to pdf version

The patent mentioned above is currently valid in:

• USA
• India
• EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Great Britain (UK), Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.