Chirp app sends data via digital birdsong

An app that transmits data via a burst of "digital birdsong" aims to simplify the way users share images and other files between smartphones, BBC News reports.

Chirp plays a two-second-long noise that sounds as if it was made by a robotic bird. When heard by other devices, it triggers a download. Animal Systems, a spin-off business from University College London (UCL), developed the software.

It is free to use, but companies will be charged a fee for add-on services. At the moment, users are limited to sending pictures, Web site links or 140-character text messages. These appear in a feed similar to Facebook's timeline. Other applications such as Android Beam, Bump, Datasync and Dropbox allow users to swap material via Bluetooth, WiFi or links to cloud-based storage.

But Chirp has the advantage in that it can quickly send data to multiple devices at once without them needing to be either paired or have a wireless connection.

A network connection is needed, but the app remembers the 'chirp' and will download whatever has been sent once there is a connection again.

"We solve the problem of having to pair devices to move data. It's fairly novel to be able to transmit information to anyone who is in earshot - a large number of devices can share the same information at the same time using sound,” PCR quotes Animal Systems' Patrick Bergel as saying.

"You can also use it as a device shifting mechanism. In the future, you will be able chirp yourself a link to a map from your laptop."

The chirp is apparently robust enough to cut through noisy surroundings to reach the receiver, and its ambitious creators hope to one day see manufacturers have Chirp preinstalled on their handsets. iOS users can already download the app, and an Android version is promised soon, ITProPortal writes.