7 ms·

Word Lens (Quest Visual) is Joining Google

121 points by dannyr 12y ago

mrtron 12y ago
Congrats!
unreal37 12y ago
It seems Word Lens was destined to join Google Translate and is a perfect match for Glass. At least they're not killing the app. Yet.
- higherpurpose 12y ago
  I'm only surprised it took them this long.
  - rev087 12y ago
    My thoughts exactly. Also, I wonder what ever happened to Google Goggles, which as I recall was very similar technology.
    - troymc 12y ago
      Google Goggles, the Android app, is still in the Google Play Store. The latest update came out in November 2013. Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.unveil https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and... P.S. Looking at the above URL, it seems Google Goggles may have been called "Unveil" at some point.
      - josu 12y ago
        It has also been integrated into the iOS Google app
    - higherpurpose 12y ago
      They integrated it into the Translate app.
- mortenjorck 12y ago
  I imagine the app will come down within a month or two of the transition, but it poses an interesting question: The Google Translate app is a native front-end to the Google Translate service. Word Lens actually does its translation on the device itself, with no need for cellular service in whatever country you may be exploring. Will Google add an offline photo translation mode, or will the Word Lens tech move to the cloud?
  - ape4 12y ago
    Not relying on the cloud is really important when you are traveling. Roaming is killer expensive and figuring out how to get a native phone plan in a new country without being able to read the signs is hard.
  - abraham 12y ago
    Google Translate has had offline support for a while. http://googletranslate.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-worlds-languages-in-your-pocket-no.html http://googletranslate.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-worlds-langu...
james33 12y ago
Figured this would have been an obvious acquisition for Google years ago, surprised it took so long. Obviously a perfect fit, and even more-so now with Glass.
- andrewmunsell 12y ago
  Actually, Google Glass already has this functionality. There's no real difference between the two, other than Google's implementation works where you're looking instead of requiring you to point your phone in a specific direction. I wrote about my experience with it during Google's Seattle Through Glass event: https://www.andrewmunsell.com/blog/looking-through-google-glass https://www.andrewmunsell.com/blog/looking-through-google-gl...
  - sahaskatta 12y ago
    The "ok glass, translate this" feature is a third-party app built by none other than WordLens. It is not powered by Google Translate.
    - andrewmunsell 12y ago
      Interesting-- they didn't mention that. I guess that the acquisition makes sense, then.
telecuda 12y ago
I show off this app to others more than I use it personally. The typical reaction is "magic!" or "witchcraft!" It's really that simple and impressive.
- ape4 12y ago
  Its well done for sure. It does this: - OCR text - Translate (you have to tell it the languages to use) - Take a guess at the font and font color - Erase the text (just replace with the background color?) - Display the new text All of these are solved problems.
zavulon 12y ago
Language packs have been made free ("for limited time"), I'm going to grab them while they're available
ericdykstra 12y ago
Congrats to Otavio and the team! An amazing product and perfect match for Google. I look forward to seeing how this gets incorporated into various Google products. Glass, Translate, and YouTube are the obvious ones to me right now.
colinbartlett 12y ago
Thanks for the journey but we're shutting things down. Another one for the Tumblr: http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com
- pcl 12y ago
  I doubt it... this seems like a really good fit for Google. I expect that the app will go away, but I'd be surprised if the tech isn't integrated into the Google Now app or something like that.
- mortenjorck 12y ago
  While it does technically fit Our Incredible Journey's requirements (acquisition, shutting down original product, use of the word "journey"), Word Lens has one very nice exception: It's a truly native app that does its translation on-device rather than in the cloud. You'll be able to use the app and its language packs for years.
covercash 12y ago
I always thought it would be cool for this app to recognize URLs in the real world. Instead of overlaying the translation, it would overlay blue text and an underline.
- ape4 12y ago
  Nice. Make it clickable you're saying of course. Perhaps save the image with clickable URL so you can get it later if you're on the subway or offline for other reason.
danso 12y ago
Congrats to Otavio and the WordLens team...I had the pleasure of meeting him at what must have been one of the weirdest tech awards thing I've been to (http://en.www.netexplo.org/laureat/wordlens http://en.www.netexplo.org/laureat/wordlens)...back then, one of the annoying implementation obstacles was the iphones 10MB limit for apps over 3G (so obviously the language packs couldn't be built in)...The technology is pretty cool now, and so it was amazing to see in action 2+ years ago.
Oculus 12y ago
As a thank you to everybody who supported us on our journey, we've made both the app and the language packs free to download for a limited time Anyone who doesn't have Word Lens yet should certainly download it now as this is an awesome deal that rarely happens with other startups once they're acquired!
- pretz 12y ago
  I think you misspelled acquihired.
LoganCale 12y ago
Goodbye, Word Lens.
humannature 12y ago
anyone know of any other similar apps? (as this one lacks support for some other major languages)
eridius 12y ago
Another cool promising product being absorbed by Google. I guess congratulations are in order to the Word Lens authors for the presumably large amount of money they just received. But otherwise, I can't see how this is good for their users.
- Oculus 12y ago
  Despite its actions historically, Google has shown the ability to incubate a startup and provide the resources it needs to reach levels of success previously unimaginable. Two such examples are Google Maps [1] & Android [2]. 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps#Acquisition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps#Acquisition 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#Hist...
  - eridius 12y ago
    I didn't realize Google Maps was an acquire. But that was Google from 10 years ago, which is a very different company than the Google of today. Google does what's best for Google. Google doesn't do what's best for its users. Its users aren't its customers (its customers are advertisers). If Google does something that appears to be good for its users, it's because it's good for Google as a company. Furthermore, when Google acquires a product/company, it does not do so because it wants to further that product/company's goals. It does so because it wants to further its own goals. Basically, Word Lens is joining the Google Translate team. But that does not necessarily mean the Word Lens functionality will be put in the iOS Translate app. Google will do that if they think it's good for Google, but I would not be in the least surprised to see them reserve that functionality for e.g. Android or Google Glass. Edit: Whomever downvoted me, care to explain your reasoning?
    - cageface 12y ago
      Google does what's best for Google. Google doesn't do what's best for its users. Unlike every other for-profit business in the world? (I didn't downvote, BTW)
gaborcselle 12y ago
Congrats Otavio and team!
rdl 12y ago
Wow, congratulations. I loved this product, especially for non-isolatin1 languages.
- tobinfricke 12y ago
  It looks like they support Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Russian. So the only "non-isolatin1" language is Russian?
  - rdl 12y ago
    They had some test code to do other languages when I talked to them. Thai in particular is something I'd really like.
twrkit 12y ago
I tried the Glass about 2 months ago, and one of the demos was a Word Lens feature. Worked pretty well too. So either they licensed it or just plain stole the idea and then bought them as retroactive immunity.
- jf 12y ago
  QuestVisual ported WordLens to Glass themselves: http://blog.questvisual.com/post/67443954608/an-eye-towards-the-future-with-word-lens-theres http://blog.questvisual.com/post/67443954608/an-eye-towards-...
CamperBob2 12y ago
Seeing Word Lens in action for the first time is the sort of thing that only happens a few times in your life. I didn't really "get" how important smartphones in general and the iPhone in particular were going to be until I saw Word Lens. Word Lens has its flaws, but it's like looking into a crystal ball that shows you the Star Trek future we were all promised as kids but have been mostly denied so far. Congratulations, this acquisition really was well-deserved.
wallflower 12y ago
Word Lens launched on News.YC 1,247 days ago. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2014555 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2014555 Congrats to the Quest Visual team! It was the first real amazing example I showed to people about the potential of having a supercomputer (and a-half) in your pocket [1]. [1] iPhone 3GS MIPS ~ 1200 MIPS, Cray 2 ~ 800 MIPS

121 points by dannyr 12y ago

Congrats!

It seems Word Lens was destined to join Google Translate and is a perfect match for Glass. At least they're not killing the app. Yet.

higherpurpose 12y ago
I'm only surprised it took them this long.
- rev087 12y ago
  My thoughts exactly. Also, I wonder what ever happened to Google Goggles, which as I recall was very similar technology.
  - troymc 12y ago
    Google Goggles, the Android app, is still in the Google Play Store. The latest update came out in November 2013. Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.unveil https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and... P.S. Looking at the above URL, it seems Google Goggles may have been called "Unveil" at some point.
    - josu 12y ago
      It has also been integrated into the iOS Google app
  - higherpurpose 12y ago
    They integrated it into the Translate app.
mortenjorck 12y ago
I imagine the app will come down within a month or two of the transition, but it poses an interesting question: The Google Translate app is a native front-end to the Google Translate service. Word Lens actually does its translation on the device itself, with no need for cellular service in whatever country you may be exploring. Will Google add an offline photo translation mode, or will the Word Lens tech move to the cloud?
- ape4 12y ago
  Not relying on the cloud is really important when you are traveling. Roaming is killer expensive and figuring out how to get a native phone plan in a new country without being able to read the signs is hard.
- abraham 12y ago
  Google Translate has had offline support for a while. http://googletranslate.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-worlds-languages-in-your-pocket-no.html http://googletranslate.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-worlds-langu...

james33 12y ago

Figured this would have been an obvious acquisition for Google years ago, surprised it took so long. Obviously a perfect fit, and even more-so now with Glass.

andrewmunsell 12y ago
Actually, Google Glass already has this functionality. There's no real difference between the two, other than Google's implementation works where you're looking instead of requiring you to point your phone in a specific direction. I wrote about my experience with it during Google's Seattle Through Glass event: https://www.andrewmunsell.com/blog/looking-through-google-glass https://www.andrewmunsell.com/blog/looking-through-google-gl...
- sahaskatta 12y ago
  The "ok glass, translate this" feature is a third-party app built by none other than WordLens. It is not powered by Google Translate.
  - andrewmunsell 12y ago
    Interesting-- they didn't mention that. I guess that the acquisition makes sense, then.

telecuda 12y ago

I show off this app to others more than I use it personally. The typical reaction is "magic!" or "witchcraft!" It's really that simple and impressive.

ape4 12y ago
Its well done for sure. It does this: - OCR text - Translate (you have to tell it the languages to use) - Take a guess at the font and font color - Erase the text (just replace with the background color?) - Display the new text All of these are solved problems.

zavulon 12y ago

Language packs have been made free ("for limited time"), I'm going to grab them while they're available

ericdykstra 12y ago

Congrats to Otavio and the team! An amazing product and perfect match for Google. I look forward to seeing how this gets incorporated into various Google products. Glass, Translate, and YouTube are the obvious ones to me right now.

colinbartlett 12y ago

Thanks for the journey but we're shutting things down. Another one for the Tumblr: http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com http://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com

pcl 12y ago
I doubt it... this seems like a really good fit for Google. I expect that the app will go away, but I'd be surprised if the tech isn't integrated into the Google Now app or something like that.
mortenjorck 12y ago
While it does technically fit Our Incredible Journey's requirements (acquisition, shutting down original product, use of the word "journey"), Word Lens has one very nice exception: It's a truly native app that does its translation on-device rather than in the cloud. You'll be able to use the app and its language packs for years.

covercash 12y ago

I always thought it would be cool for this app to recognize URLs in the real world. Instead of overlaying the translation, it would overlay blue text and an underline.

ape4 12y ago
Nice. Make it clickable you're saying of course. Perhaps save the image with clickable URL so you can get it later if you're on the subway or offline for other reason.

danso 12y ago

Congrats to Otavio and the WordLens team...I had the pleasure of meeting him at what must have been one of the weirdest tech awards thing I've been to (http://en.www.netexplo.org/laureat/wordlens http://en.www.netexplo.org/laureat/wordlens)...back then, one of the annoying implementation obstacles was the iphones 10MB limit for apps over 3G (so obviously the language packs couldn't be built in)...The technology is pretty cool now, and so it was amazing to see in action 2+ years ago.

Oculus 12y ago

As a thank you to everybody who supported us on our journey, we've made both the app and the language packs free to download for a limited time Anyone who doesn't have Word Lens yet should certainly download it now as this is an awesome deal that rarely happens with other startups once they're acquired!

pretz 12y ago
I think you misspelled acquihired.

LoganCale 12y ago

Goodbye, Word Lens.

humannature 12y ago

anyone know of any other similar apps? (as this one lacks support for some other major languages)

eridius 12y ago

Another cool promising product being absorbed by Google. I guess congratulations are in order to the Word Lens authors for the presumably large amount of money they just received. But otherwise, I can't see how this is good for their users.

Oculus 12y ago
Despite its actions historically, Google has shown the ability to incubate a startup and provide the resources it needs to reach levels of success previously unimaginable. Two such examples are Google Maps [1] & Android [2]. 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps#Acquisition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps#Acquisition 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#Hist...
- eridius 12y ago
  I didn't realize Google Maps was an acquire. But that was Google from 10 years ago, which is a very different company than the Google of today. Google does what's best for Google. Google doesn't do what's best for its users. Its users aren't its customers (its customers are advertisers). If Google does something that appears to be good for its users, it's because it's good for Google as a company. Furthermore, when Google acquires a product/company, it does not do so because it wants to further that product/company's goals. It does so because it wants to further its own goals. Basically, Word Lens is joining the Google Translate team. But that does not necessarily mean the Word Lens functionality will be put in the iOS Translate app. Google will do that if they think it's good for Google, but I would not be in the least surprised to see them reserve that functionality for e.g. Android or Google Glass. Edit: Whomever downvoted me, care to explain your reasoning?
  - cageface 12y ago
    Google does what's best for Google. Google doesn't do what's best for its users. Unlike every other for-profit business in the world? (I didn't downvote, BTW)

gaborcselle 12y ago

Congrats Otavio and team!

rdl 12y ago

Wow, congratulations. I loved this product, especially for non-isolatin1 languages.

tobinfricke 12y ago
It looks like they support Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Russian. So the only "non-isolatin1" language is Russian?
- rdl 12y ago
  They had some test code to do other languages when I talked to them. Thai in particular is something I'd really like.

twrkit 12y ago

I tried the Glass about 2 months ago, and one of the demos was a Word Lens feature. Worked pretty well too. So either they licensed it or just plain stole the idea and then bought them as retroactive immunity.

jf 12y ago
QuestVisual ported WordLens to Glass themselves: http://blog.questvisual.com/post/67443954608/an-eye-towards-the-future-with-word-lens-theres http://blog.questvisual.com/post/67443954608/an-eye-towards-...

CamperBob2 12y ago

Seeing Word Lens in action for the first time is the sort of thing that only happens a few times in your life. I didn't really "get" how important smartphones in general and the iPhone in particular were going to be until I saw Word Lens. Word Lens has its flaws, but it's like looking into a crystal ball that shows you the Star Trek future we were all promised as kids but have been mostly denied so far. Congratulations, this acquisition really was well-deserved.

wallflower 12y ago

Word Lens launched on News.YC 1,247 days ago. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2014555 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2014555 Congrats to the Quest Visual team! It was the first real amazing example I showed to people about the potential of having a supercomputer (and a-half) in your pocket [1]. [1] iPhone 3GS MIPS ~ 1200 MIPS, Cray 2 ~ 800 MIPS