As virtual reality and augmented reality become norms, major tech companies seem to be aligning their services to work better with these emerging technologies.
Google is known for its prowess when it comes to search engine and as it seems the company wants to incorporate augmented reality into this business. The search engine giant is reportedly looking for ways it can integrate augmented reality into its camera application. This is good news for lovers of AR, but don’t get too excited as there is no mention of when or if this is even going to happen.
Nonetheless, to achieve this Google will have to seek help from Goggles such that users are allowed to see search results according to their needs, for instance, transit information, nearby restaurants and so on. What Google actually wants is for you to be able to select certain areas of an image such that your search is concentrated on the selected area.
According to the latest rumors, this new integration would see a new feature that will let users outline specific areas on the photo such that it is easy to target searches. When compared with what the current Google Goggles offers in terms of search, it will be a huge improvement. At the moment, users of Goggles can only search an entire image.
There are reports that Google has already tested this technology in wearable devices, a possible indicator that the Google Glass and other VR headsets might also get this functionality.
About Google Goggles
In case you didn’t know, Google Goggles, which is the augmented reality technology that Google wants your Android app to have, came to life back in 2009. The visual search app, later on, started fading away as the company did little to keep it updated. However, it seems interest has come again thanks to the market predictions that point towards virtual reality and augmented reality as booming sectors.
Google wants to do away with the standalone augmented reality app and instead integrate the technology into its Android camera app. This would mean the technology will be available to all users of Nexus devices as well as those who download the app from the Google Play Store.
Google has been stepping up its efforts on the mobile search platform. With the introduction of such a feature, there is no doubt that the search engine giant is seriously looking for better ways it can get its customers to search right from within apps, hence, no need for hopping between apps.