Google Goggles was an

image recognition Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the human ...

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

developed by

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

. It was used for searches based on pictures taken by handheld devices. For example, taking a picture of a famous landmark searches for information about it, or taking a picture of a product's barcode would search for information on the product.

History

Google Goggles was developed for use on Google's Android operating system for mobile devices. While initially only available in a beta version for Android phones,

announced its plans to enable the software to run on other platforms, notably iPhone and

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

devices.PCWorld:

did not discuss a non-handheld format. Google product manager Shailesh Nalawadi indicated that Google wanted Goggles to be an application platform, much like

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

, not just a single product. On October 5, 2010,

announced availability of Google Goggles for devices running iOS 4.0. In a May 2014 update to Google Mobile for iOS, the Google Goggles feature was removed. At

Google I/O Google I/O (or simply I/O) is an annual developer conference held by Google in Mountain View, California. "I/O" stands for Input/Output, as well as the slogan "Innovation in the Open". The event's format is similar to Google Developer Day. Hi ...

2017, a similar app,

Google Lens Google Lens is an image recognition technology developed by Google, designed to bring up relevant information related to objects it identifies using visual analysis based on a neural network. First announced during Google I/O 2017, it was firs ...

was announced that has similar functions as Goggles and uses the

Google Assistant Google Assistant is a virtual assistant software application developed by Google that is primarily available on mobile and home automation devices. Based on artificial intelligence, Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations, unlike t ...

. The app was officially discontinued on August 20, 2018 with its last update directing users to download

Google Photos Google Photos is a photo sharing and storage service developed by Google. It was announced in May 2015 and spun off from Google+, the company's former social network. As of June 1, 2021, in its free tier, any newly uploaded photo and video c ...

upon launching the app.

Features

The system could identify various labels or landmarks, allowing users to learn about such items without needing a text-based search. The system could identify products

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...

s or labels that allow users to search for similar products and prices, solve

sudoku Sudoku (; ja, 数独, sūdoku, digit-single; originally called Number Place) is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row ...

s from photographs, and save codes for future reference, similar to the

CueCat The CueCat, styled :CueCat with a leading colon, is a cat-shaped handheld barcode reader that was given away free * * * to Internet users starting in 2000 by the now-defunct Digital Convergence Corporation. The CueCat was named CUE for the uniqu ...

from late 1990s. The system also recognized printed text and uses

optical character recognition Optical character recognition or optical character reader (OCR) is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a sc ...

(OCR) to produce a text snippet, and in some cases even translate the snippet into another language.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

announced in December 2011 its collaboration with Google to use Google Goggles for providing information about the artworks in the museum through direct links to the

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...

of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Metropolitan Museum Enhances Online Access to Its Collections with Google Goggles
''. New York, December 16, 2011; Thomas P. Campbell
Google Goggles
(New York, December 16, 2011): ''I'm pleased to announce a new collaboration with Google that lets you take a picture of a work of art with your mobile device and link straight to more information on metmuseum.org.''

References

External links

* {{Google Inc. Computer vision software

Goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

Object recognition and categorization Android (operating system) Android (operating system) software Augmented reality applications Products introduced in 2010 Products and services discontinued in 2018

History

Features

Metropolitan Museum of Art

See also

References

External links