On the Radar…

Today, two TechStars alumni announced they have formed a partnership to release the iPhone app FoodScanner, a food journal application that incorporates a barcode scanner to let users quickly input multiple variables of nutritional information. DailyBurn is the fastest growing fitness site on the web with over 250,000 users, and Occipital LLC developed RedLaser, which is the highest-rated barcode scanning platform sold on the iPhone. DailyBurn is an expert in the calorie tracking business, maintaining a database of over 170,000 foods and recipes that allows dieters and exercisers to accurately quantify nutritional intake. The current DailyBurn iPhone application, which is free, includes this information but requires users to manually input the types of foods consumed. FoodScanner, costing $2.99, is designed for the time deprived customer and allows users to simply take a photo of the food item’s barcode and tap in the number of servings consumed. This information will then sync with the user’s DailyBurn account or serve as a standalone food journal. Comments Andy Smith, CEO of the popular fitness site, “This really is the easiest way possible to log your food from a mobile device. Scanning the UPC makes food journaling more accurate in less time – a win for calorie counters and people who care about their nutrition.” FoodScanner is an early breakout in building consumer applications on top of the ubiquitous barcode. Vikas Reddy, co-founder of Occipital, reflects on the future of the technology: “It’s all about taking something that humans can do and getting mobile devices to do it faster and more accurately.”