With the latest update to the Android version of Google Translate, you no longer have to type in those language queries.
The search giant has integrated Google Goggles’ optical character recognition (OCR) technology into the translate app, making it possible for a user to simply point their smartphone camera at unfamiliar text, click, brush, and translate, without having to manually type in words.
To use the new feature, press the camera button in the bottom right of the screen, point and tap to freeze the photo, then brush your finger over the particular segment you want translated, and a translation pops onto the screen. The usual text-to-speech option remains, to audibly learn what a sign, menu, or book says.
This update makes Google Translate for Android one of the most intelligent and learning-intensive apps the company has produced, Etienne Deguine, associate product manager for Google Translate, said in a blog post.
The app currently supports character recognition for Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Google is working to add more languages to the list.
Google Translate is available for free in the Google Play store for Android 2.1 and up.
Google isn’t the first to take on visual translation technology, though. In late 2010, the World Lens app hit the iPhone, providing users a Spanish or English translation instantly when the camera lens is pointed at foreign words.
Once referred to as a “futuristic” app, World Lens is still available in the Apple App Store, updated to include Italian, and the ability to translate languages in both directions – from Spanish to English, or English to Spanish. The app is compatible with iOS 4.0 and later devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
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