[Product] POD

Tue Mar 18 10:34:30 UTC 2014

Jumping in here but would love to hear from others :-)

On 12 March 2014 15:56, TLMCN <thomas at enventeco.co.uk> wrote:

> Would really like to hear from anybody that can give me some background on
> the current state of the project, regarding the database architecture,
> vision and sources of data.
>

A bunch of information on the database structure can be found here:
https://github.com/okfn/product-browser-web

There's also info on http://product.okfn.org/

> Source databases of barcodes from organisations that wish to promote their
> clients products and add additional layers of information, interest for end
> users.
>

Strong +1 here - this seems an excellent idea.

> - Fairtrade Association
> - Soil Association
> - Other certificate organizations
> - iZettle, mobile payment companies product library
>
> There should be an input interface/ procedure/ app for garnering this
> information as much as possible. POD should make itself as useful to
> consumers as possible, showing them where there may be conflicts between
> their purchasing decisions and psychometric values. Another feature could
> be a function for households or businesses to help with shopping.
>

I agree we need to make input easy though we also want to ensure good
quality. One thing would be to extend the Android and iOS apps to support
input, as well as to make it clearer how to contribute data in bulk.

> - Scan barcode from a phone or laptop webcam
> - Get product information by removing the labelling and placing it in a
> flatbed scanner to make it more readily machine readable and identify
> tables of ingredients, nutritional guidance, recycling information etc.
>

these seem good though it may be even better to focus on getting bulk data
from key sources (one bulk source may equate to millions of single
contributions).

> Not clear what the status of the mIData legislation is, only that the
> consultation period is now concluded, an amendment to the legislation could
> be considered to make it a legal requirement for companies/ importers/
> producers to disclose barcode information.
>
> Will also look at different choke points such as ports and their
> infrastructure for keeping track of the goods passing through.
>
> I have many more ideas about how to make this work and encourage people to
> contribute to the database also.
>

What about booting a google doc for us to collate suggestions on the
immediate next steps especially about getting more data.

> Please let me know what you think and involve me in any solution that you
> are trying to build as well so we can see about pooling resources to make
> this come true.
>

Its great to have you involved and let's move this forward :-)

Rufus
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