Mobile Visual Search: Google Goggles

Google has again unveiled an innovative feature, Google Goggles, to upgrade its mobile search engine. With this new visual searching tool, Android phone users can get information on the go in the blink of an eye simply by snapping a phone.

Available on the Android Market as a free application for download, Google Goggles works with the built-in camera of your Android-powered handset. All you have to do is to take a picture of the object you are interested in. Google will then create signatures of the image and compare them with its image database. In just a few seconds, it will come up with one or more search results with information related to the object.

Using the phone’s built-in compass and GPS function, you can also get instant information about points of interest without snapping a photo. You just need to hold your phone in landscape view and point the camera at any location, and you will see labels tagged to the nearby businesses. Select a specific label, more information about that particular business will pop up.

The search tool currently supports books, DVDs, landmarks, logos, contact info, artwork, businesses, products, barcodes and text, but does not work well on other objects yet.
The company hopes to be able to visually identify any image someday. "Today, you have to frame a picture and snap a photo. But in the future, you'll simply be able to point to an object, and treat it as a mouse pointer for the real world," said Google Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra, according to PCWorld.

Currently, Google Goggle is only available to phones running Android 1.6 and above, such as the Motorola DROID, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and the G1. But according to PCWorld, the application will probably reach other platforms some time later. This means users of non-Android phones, such as iPhone and BlackBerry, may also benefit from the visual search function in the future.

To download this application, go to Android market via your cell phone and search for "Google Goggles". You can also click here to watch a demo video and find out how it works.

Tags: Motorola DROID (A855) Accessories, Motorola Accessories, T-Mobile myTouch 3G (HTC Magic) Accessories, T-Mobile G1 (Google Phone) Accessories, HTC Accessories, T-Mobile Accessories