The latest company to come under Google’s radar is Quest Visual, a startup best known for real-time translator app, Word Lens. The official announcement made on Google’s website was confirmed with Quest Visual’s statement of hope to incorporate its technology into “Google translate’s broad language coverage and translation capabilities”.
The Word Lens app developed by those at Quest Visual translates the text in any picture taken with your phone’s camera. A tool that will prove to be handy especially when one is on a tour the app’s high point is that it rquires no network connection. The technology involved in this wonder app for many will now become a part of the Google team that develops translation services and features.
Available for Android, iOS and Google Glass, the Word Lens app is now free along with its language packs for a certain period until all transition to Google is complete.
Talking about the acquisition, Google says:
With Word Lens, we’ve seen the beginnings of what’s possible when we harness the power of mobile devices to “see the world in your language.”
By joining Google, we can incorporate Quest Visual’s technology into Google Translate’s broad language coverage and translation capabilities in the future.
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 while we transition to Google.
We’re looking forward to continuing our work at Google – stay tuned!
This is yet another interesting move by Google, although the final verdict is a fair distance short of near sight.