Google has introduced many a great application that has withstood the test of time thanks to its easy-to-use interface or profound utilitarian value. Google search is just one among them. There are many others – Maps, Translate, Earth and Docs (an online productivity suite, wow!); the list goes on….
There are many tech terms that have become common parlance as verbs these days. Suppose you want to send a message to your friend. What would you prefer, to ‘SMS’ him or ‘e-mail’ her? If you don’t know what Sixth Sense technology is all about, getting to know more is just an online search away. Just ‘google’ it!
And now, with the kind of research that’s been going on in the Google world, you can now do what’s called ‘visual search’ using your mobile phone. Sci-Fi??? Not really! With Google Goggles, you can ‘just do it’! This article focuses on what could be one of the coolest Google apps we’ve seen….. yet!
Created for the Google’s ingenious Android Operating system, the Goggles application allows cell-phone users to point and click at various objects in the real-world using their phone’s camera and then use the mobile web to instantly search for information on the image. How thoughtful of the folks at Google!
Landmarks:
How often have the tourists among us found ourselves scratching our heads trying to figure out what the name of the magnificent building is that we find yourselves standing in front of. With the Goggles app, scratch no more! Just point your camera phone at the building, click an image and voila, you have relevant information from the web displayed right away, maybe even details of when it was constructed and who the architect was. This could be a blessing for tourists/ travellers.No more typing in words or addresses to map the location and thereby the places of interest around.
Businesses:
Standing on a street on some part of the world, and being able to use live GPS facilities to identify places of interest and businesses nearby is a phenomenal improvement to the tried and trusted GPS tracking many of us are used to. What really amazes me is that this feature does not even require photos to be taken. Just point in the general direction of the street and if the google search/ GPS database already has information on the location, you could see the establishments nearby appear on the scroll-bar at the bottom of the phone’s display window. Just click on any of the text that appears to get more information on the business/ location.
Logos:
Just taking a picture of a logo could give you instant information about the brand associated with it and details of the company as well. How cool is that?
Books:
Shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? Yes, of course. But now you can definitely find out more information about the book, so that you can make a… ahem… more informed judgment. Just click on the cover of the book, and the Goggles app immediately starts a google search and gives you more details on the book you’re looking at.
Wine:
Click on the label of a wine-bottle and there’s a good possibility you’ll find information on the wine at your finger-tips, including the type of wine, how it was made, the year in which it was made and where. As a wine-lover myself, I am biased toward this great feature.
Artwork:
Picture this (no pun intended). you’re looking at an enchanting painting and are drawn in by it’s attention to detail… and you’re wondering – Manet? Monet? Vernet? Start the Goggles app on your phone; point the camera at the image… and ‘click’!
The tool is still in development, and does have limitations as to what can be ‘goggled‘. For example, the application cannot recognise faces, flora, fauna, food, clothes and cars currently. The application only runs on Android devices running OS v1.6 and above.
Here’s an interesting video on how Google developed this tool and where it stands currently, in terms of usage and effectiveness:
MSNBC Video
On a closing note, I think that the future is very bright for this tool, and the application of this …well, application knows no bounds. I read on one of the online reviews that a Goggles-user used the app to identify the character displayed on a Pokemon card that was lying on the floor. Imagine what a great impression you could make on your children if you could demonstrate your knowledge on something so important to them. Want to impress friends, relatives or even a potential mate? It’s now easier than ever by appearing more knowledgeable… what does it matter if the knowledge was acquired only a few minutes earlier by simple point-and-click operations?
Google deserves praise for attempting to bridge the divide between the physical and the digital worlds.
Google goggles boggles my mind! 
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