Google Adding 'Word Lens' Camera Translation and Conversation Mode to Translate App

[MacRumors]

Google today announced a forthcoming update to its Google Translate app for iOS that will bring instant camera-based translation and automatic language recognition to Apple's mobile devices. This will be Google's first update to the translation app in nearly a year.

The updated translation app improves upon the current text recognition feature by incorporating the real-time translation technology that Google acquired with Word Lens last year. Instead of capturing a photo for translation, users can point their phones at signs, menus and other text and immediately view overlays containing the translated phrases.

At launch, this Word Lens feature will support a limited number of languages (English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) with additional languages expected in the future. It also will work even when there is no available Internet connection.

Google has also added a new real-time conversation mode that is available for the first time on the iOS platform. Previously incorporated into Android, this real-time mode improves the flow of a conversation by automatically detecting the languages being used by the participants. Once language identification is complete, users can speak at a natural pace without needing to tap the mic between each side of the conversation.

Google is rolling out the Translate update across its platforms with the iOS version debuting in the next few days. Google Translate is a universal app and available for free in the iOS App Store. [Direct Link]

Update 10:42 AM: The Google Translate update is now available in the App Store.

Article Link: Google Adding 'Word Lens' Camera Translation and Conversation Mode to Translate App

 

[filmantopia]

Word lens blew me away the first time I saw it in action. It's definitely a vision of the future. Imagine your glasses being able to do this in front of your eyes.

 

[chuloo]

Just don't forget to add Swedish!

 

[LordQ]

The only Google app I don't mind spying on me. Hope it also includes a widget like iTranslate!

 

[IJ Reilly]

Word lens blew me away the first time I saw it in action. It's definitely a vision of the future. Imagine your glasses being able to do this in front of your eyes.

Given how it works now, that would be a pretty nauseating experience.

I tried WordLens for travel in Italy (this is before Google bought it). Sometimes it gets you a word or three but you have to hold the iPhone very steady and even then WordLens is constantly guessing, often wrongly. But the really big problem with this tech is doesn't have any sense of word meanings or phrasing, so the word-by-word translations are often comically bad.

Maybe Google has fixed all this, but I doubt it.

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The updated translation app improves upon the current text recognition feature by incorporating the real-time translation technology that Google acquired with Word Lens last year. Instead of capturing a photo for translation, users can point their phones at signs, menus and other text and immediately view overlays containing the translated phrases.

This is how it always worked, real-time and on-the-fly.

 

[technosix]

I'm a supporter of both Apple and Google. It seems within these forums I've followed for years, many have felt threatened by Google just as though they work for Apple, a very interesting dynamic.

Both with their strengths, I find it refreshing that Google is so fearless and very focused on true innovation. Not afraid to fail, they've brought a lot of great ideas to fruition.

Reminds me of Apples early days before they adopted a more conservative position. Now limited to consumer electronics and masterful marketing Apple's expanding the gadget world quite nicely.

 

[tl01]

This looks amazing!!

 

[DMinTX]

This is the Google Glass killer app.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Given how it works now, that would be a pretty nauseating experience.

I tried WordLens for travel in Italy (this is before Google bought it). Sometimes it gets you a word or three but you have to hold the iPhone very steady and even then WordLens is constantly guessing, often wrongly. But the really big problem with this tech is doesn't have any sense of word meanings or phrasing, so the word-by-word translations are often comically bad.

yes, because "in the future" nothing in tech ever gets way better.

 

[noodledog]

New version not showing in the app store for me. Still showing Mar '14 version, and if I download, it doesn't have the update for Word Lens.

Is there sometimes some roll-out lag depending on where you access the store? (I'm in the US)

 

[DoubleU]

Is there sometimes some roll-out lag depending on where you access the store? (I'm in the US)

The article from the link says that Google are rolling this out over the next few days. A little confusing as at the start of the article the person translating it says 'starting from now'.

I used WordLens when it first came out, it was useful for working out what signage said but using it on sentences always made them look like they were written for Modernist fiction; interesting, dynamic and complete gibberish.

 

[IJ Reilly]

yes, because "in the future" nothing in tech ever gets way better.

I can't see how my comment elicited yours.

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I used WordLens when it first came out, it was useful for working out what signage said but using it on sentences always made them look like they were written for Modernist fiction; interesting, dynamic and complete gibberish.

Are you saying it isn't as wonderful as it looks? Gosh, that can't be allowed.

 

[lowercaseperson]

Given how it works now, that would be a pretty nauseating experience.

I tried WordLens for travel in Italy (this is before Google bought it). Sometimes it gets you a word or three but you have to hold the iPhone very steady and even then WordLens is constantly guessing, often wrongly. But the really big problem with this tech is doesn't have any sense of word meanings or phrasing, so the word-by-word translations are often comically bad.

My thoughts exactly. Contextualization is an incredibly large part of translation, I can't imagine a computer being very good at it.

 

[JosephAW]

The best part of word lense is it can operate without the internet. I don't think google will continue down this path. They want to know everything.

 

[Carlanga]

Given how it works now, that would be a pretty nauseating experience.

I tried WordLens for travel in Italy (this is before Google bought it). Sometimes it gets you a word or three but you have to hold the iPhone very steady and even then WordLens is constantly guessing, often wrongly. But the really big problem with this tech is doesn't have any sense of word meanings or phrasing, so the word-by-word translations are often comically bad.

Maybe Google has fixed all this, but I doubt it.

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This is how it always worked, real-time and on-the-fly.

unfortunately they have only ported the app into the translate app. I had hoped they would have at least improved it a little before adding it.

 

[richwoodrocket]

This is awesome!! Finally an app update from Google that's worthwhile. It's pretty mind blowing what this app can do...

 

[FieldingMellish]

I fondly recall a class trip way back when visiting the United Nations. There were scores of booths with human translators in them. Does Google's development mean their numbers are up?

 

[Doctor Q]

I've used Word Lens for the novelty of it, and I'm looking forward to the time I can depend on it while traveling.

 

[IJ Reilly]

My thoughts exactly. Contextualization is an incredibly large part of translation, I can't imagine a computer being very good at it.

I can imagine a time when a computer could be good at this, but it will require a lot more development. For now to use this for anything more complicated than a restaurant menu or a sign is impractical. Even for relatively simple applications you have to apply your own fuzzy logic to rejecting many of the obviously wrong translation choices it offers as it tries to figure out the words.

BTW the article included an error. Word Lens never required taking a picture.

 

[Gusjasso]

I don't know why this report made me though that more soon than later Google will win the tech war

 

[Superhai]

BTW the article included an error. Word Lens never required taking a picture.

The article references "the updated translation app" which is Google Translate, not Word Lens. Google Translate could obviously do translation but you needed to type it in or take a picture.

 

[IJ Reilly]

The article references "the updated translation app" which is Google Translate, not Word Lens. Google Translate could obviously do translation but you needed to type it in or take a picture.

Perhaps that is what they meant, but "the updated translation app improves upon the current text recognition feature by incorporating the real-time translation technology," could be read otherwise. Incorporating something Word Lens could always do into a Google app doesn't represent an improvement on anything.

 

[jimcartermdw]

it's translated wrong, it's exit to city
****ing google transltate, when will get translate properly

 

[a0me]

Word lens blew me away the first time I saw it in action. It's definitely a vision of the future. Imagine your glasses being able to do this in front of your eyes.

In some countries you don't even need Word Lens technology to get terrible machine-translated nonsense.

 

[paulsdenton]

I haven't tried this yet but I sure hope it works!

Having it would have made my travels in two particular countries, Ukraine and Russia, so much better! The native alphabets are pretty tough for me to deal with.


Probably Thailand and Israel, too, though most signs in urban locations already have Roman letter transliteration.