Proximity Discovery System and Method

The proximity discovery system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of user devices further comprises:

• a camera for capturing a digital image of a paper business card;
• and
• an optical character recognition (OCR) module configured to:
• a) extract a user name and contact information from the digital image;
• and
• b) retrieve a user photo from a social media website if said contact information comprises a social media website address.

A proximity discovery system comprising a user device and server for storing contact data, the user device comprising:

• an antenna and transceiver for exchanging discovery messages with a plurality of mobile devices within approximately 100 meters of the user device;
• a user detection module for detecting the discovery messages from each of the plurality of mobile devices;
• a proximity detector for estimating a distance from the user device to each of the plurality of mobile devices;
• a connection module for sharing biographic and professional information with the plurality of mobile devices based on one of a plurality of connection levels, wherein the plurality of connection levels comprises a first level in which name and corporate affiliation are shared, and a second level in which social media contact data are shared.

A method of discovering a plurality of mobile devices in proximity of user with a user device, the method comprising:

• transmitting, via an antenna and transceiver, a discovery message to a plurality of mobile devices within approximately 100 meters of the user device;
• receiving, via the antenna and transceiver, a discovery message from a from a plurality of mobile devices within approximately 100 meters of the user device;
• estimating a distance from the user device to each of the plurality of mobile devices;
• exchanging biographic and professional information with the plurality of mobile devices based on one of a plurality of connection levels, wherein the plurality of connection levels comprises a first level in which name and corporate affiliation are exchanged, and a second level in which social media contact data are exchanged.