Google Goggles

Last updated
Google Goggles
Developer(s) Google
Initial releaseOctober 5, 2010;14 years ago (2010-10-05)
Final release
1.9.4 / August 20, 2018;6 years ago (2018-08-20)
Operating system Android, iOS
Successor Google Lens
Size 2.7 MB
Website www.google.com/mobile/goggles   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Google Goggles was an image recognition mobile app developed by Google. 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.

Contents

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, Google announced its plans to enable the software to run on other platforms, notably iPhone and BlackBerry devices. [1] Google 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, not just a single product. [2] On October 5, 2010, Google announced availability of Google Goggles for devices running iOS 4.0. [3] In a May 2014 update to Google Mobile for iOS, the Google Goggles feature was removed.

At Google I/O 2017, a similar app, Google Lens was announced that has similar functions as Goggles and uses the Google Assistant. [4]

The app was officially discontinued on August 20, 2018 with its last update directing users to download Google Lens or Google Photos upon launching the app. [5] [6]

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 barcodes or labels that allow users to search for similar products and prices, solve sudokus from photographs, [7] and save codes for future reference, similar to the CueCat from late 1990s. The system also recognized printed text and uses optical character recognition (OCR) to produce a text snippet, and in some cases even translate the snippet into another language.

In December 2011, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its collaboration with Google to use Google Goggles for providing information about the museum's artworks through direct links to the website of the museum. [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smartphone</span> Handheld mobile device

A smartphone, often simply called a phone, is a mobile device that combines the functionality of a traditional mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multimedia playback and streaming. Smartphones have built-in cameras, GPS navigation, and support for various communication methods, including voice calls, text messaging, and internet-based messaging apps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile game</span> Video game played on a mobile device

A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone, tablet, PDA to handheld game console, portable media player or graphing calculator, with and without network availability. The earliest known game on a mobile phone was a Tetris variant on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device from 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bing Mobile</span> Web search for mobile devices

Bing for mobile is a search tool for handheld mobile devices from Microsoft as part of their Bing search engine. It is designed for mobile device displays. Bing Mobile is built into Windows Mobile and Windows Phone as proprietary software, accessed via the Search key on Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 devices. It is also available on Windows Phone 8.1, and can be downloaded for other platforms, including and Android.

Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is the world's most widely used computer operating system due to it being used on most smartphones and tablets outside of iPhone and iPad products which use Apple's iOS. As of October 2024, Android has 45% of the global operating system market, followed by Windows with 26%.

A mobile operating system is an operating system used for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical/mobile laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on them are usually not considered mobile, as they were originally designed for desktop computers that historically did not have or need specific mobile features. This "fine line" distinguishing mobile and other forms has become blurred in recent years, due to the fact that newer devices have become smaller and more mobile, unlike the hardware of the past. Key notabilities blurring this line are the introduction of tablet computers, light laptops, and the hybridization of the two in 2-in-1 PCs.

Nokia Point & Find is a mobile application, which lets you point your Nokia smartphone camera at objects and images you want to know more about, to find more information. It is a visual search technology that uses the phone's camera to obtain information by using image recognition to identify objects, images and places in the physical world in real-time. For example, one can use the application to find information on movies by pointing the camera at movie posters and then view reviews, or find tickets at nearby theaters. Its uses include city landmark tagging, barcode scanning for comparison shopping and 2D barcode scanning and finding information related to products and services based on content provided by third party publishers.

Telenav, Inc. is a wireless location-based services corporation that provides services including Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation, local search, automotive navigation solutions, mobile advertising, enterprise mobility and workflow automation. The company’s headquarters are located in Santa Clara, California in the United States with additional offices in the U.S., Germany, Japan, Romania, China, and Brazil.

Springpad was a free online application and web service that allowed its registered users to save, organize and share collected ideas and information. As users added content to their Springpad accounts, the application automatically identified and categorized it, then generated additional snippets based on the types of objects added—for example, listing price comparisons for products and showtimes for movies.

An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the computer itself. Complex software designed for use on a personal computer, for example, may have a related app designed for use on a mobile device. Today apps are normally designed to run on a specific operating system—such as the contemporary iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux or Android—but in the past mobile carriers had their own portals for apps and related media content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recon Instruments</span>

Recon Instruments was a Canadian technology company that produced smartglasses and wearable displays marketed by the company as "heads-up displays" for sports. Recon's products delivered live activity metrics, GPS maps, and notifications directly to the user's eye. Recon's first heads-up display offering was released commercially in October 2010, roughly a year and a half before Google introduced Google Glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ShopSavvy</span>

ShopSavvy is a mobile application for shopping that scans products and finds online and local stores providing those products. Additionally, ShopSavvy compares the prices, displays user reviews, and searches for deals and discounts on scanned items. The app was developed by Rylan Barnes, Jason Hudgins and Alexander Muse, who won the “Google’s Android Developer Challenge" and subsequently founded ShopSavvy, Inc.

Microsoft mobile services are a set of proprietary mobile services created specifically for mobile devices; they are typically offered through mobile applications and mobile browser for Windows Phone platforms, BREW, and Java. Microsoft's mobile services are typically connected with a Microsoft account and often come preinstalled on Microsoft's own mobile operating systems while they are offered via various means for other platforms. Microsoft started to develop for mobile computing platforms with the launch of Windows CE in 1996 and later added Microsoft's Pocket Office suite to their Handheld PC line of PDAs in April 2000. From December 2014 to June 2015, Microsoft made a number of corporate acquisitions, buying several of the top applications listed in Google Play and the App Store including Acompli, Sunrise Calendar, Datazen, Wunderlist, Echo Notification Lockscreen, and MileIQ.

Payanywhere is a payments platform and app that allows merchants in the United States to accept credit and debit card payments while building customer relationships in-store, online, or on the go. Merchants may accept payments on their smartphone via a Bluetooth card reader or on an in-store “Storefront” solution featuring a tablet and stand, which was introduced on April 8, 2014. PayAnywhere offers credit card readers and apps that are compatible with both Apple and Android devices.

Samsung Knox is a proprietary security and management framework pre-installed on most Samsung mobile devices. Its primary purpose is to provide organizations with a toolset for managing work devices, such as employee mobile phones or interactive kiosks. Samsung Galaxy hardware, as well as software such as Secure Folder and Samsung Wallet, make use of the Knox framework.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cortana (virtual assistant)</span> Discontinued personal assistant by Microsoft

Cortana was a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft that used the Bing search engine to perform tasks such as setting reminders and answering questions for users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Cardboard</span> Discontinued virtual reality platform

Google Cardboard is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform developed by Google. Named for its fold-out cardboard viewer into which a smartphone is inserted, the platform was intended as a low-cost system to encourage interest and development in VR applications. Users can either build their own viewer from simple, low-cost components using specifications published by Google, or purchase a pre-manufactured one. To use the platform, users run Cardboard-compatible mobile apps on their phone, place it into the back of the viewer, and view content through the lenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here WeGo</span> Web mapping and navigation service since 2012

Here WeGo is a web mapping and satellite navigation software, operated by HERE Technologies and available on the Web and mobile platforms. It is based on HERE's location data platform, providing its in-house data, which includes satellite views, traffic data, and other location services. Maps are updated every two or three months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Daydream</span> Discontinued virtual reality platform by Google

Daydream is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform which was developed by Google, primarily for use with a headset into which a smartphone is inserted. It is available for select phones running the Android mobile operating system that meet the platform's software and hardware requirements. Daydream was announced at the Google I/O developer conference in May 2016, and the first headset, the Daydream View, was released on November 10, 2016. To use the platform, users place their phone into the back of a headset, run Daydream-compatible mobile apps, and view content through the viewer's lenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Lens</span> Image recognition tool developed by Google

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 first provided as a standalone app, later being integrated into Google Camera but was reportedly removed in October 2022. It has also been integrated with the Google Photos and Google Assistant app and with Bard as of 2023.

References

  1. PCWorld: Raphael, JR (December 8, 2009). "Confirmed: Google Goggles Will Reach Other Platforms". PCWorld. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  2. "Google: we plan to open up our Goggles platform". Techradar. April 14, 2010. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  3. "Open your eyes: Google Goggles now available on iPhone in Google Mobile App". Google Mobile Blog. October 5, 2010. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  4. Rajamanickam Antonimuthu (18 May 2017). "Google Lens announced at Google I/O 2017 - QPT". Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017 via YouTube.
  5. "Google Goggles". Apps on Google Play. August 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  6. Davenport, Corbin (August 16, 2018). "Google Goggles is dead, now prompts users to install Lens". Android Police. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  7. Busch, Jack (11 February 2011). "How to Solve a Sudoku Puzzle Instantly with Google Goggles". groovyPost. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  8. "Metropolitan Museum Enhances Online Access to Its Collections with Google Goggles". New York. 2011-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-05-19.
  9. Campbell, Thomas P. (2011-12-16). "Google Goggles". New York. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. 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.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)