Retailers, consumer goods and other companies that require a high level of color or image coordination could implement the technology to offer services that help their customers select the right products for their needs.

The color matching technology, which is currently in prototype, builds on HP’s expertise in imaging, color science, mobility and networking

This is how it works, instead of sitting down with a consultant at a beauty counter, a shopper photographs herself using a mobile phone camera and while holding a specially designed color chart. The person then sends the photo as an MMS (multimedia message) to an advisory service. That system locates the person’s face within the image and color corrects the image for camera and lighting discrepancies.

Skin pixels are extracted from the color corrected image of the person’s face, and then compared to an existing database of previously captured and analyzed images of skin tones of real people. In a matter of seconds, people using the service receive a text message response with a recommendation on the shades of makeup that are best suited to their complexion.

The technology can work with any mobile operator and on any mobile phone equipped with a camera. Photos demonstrating the color matching technology are available at www.hpl.hp.com/about/media/mobile_image/