Category: Gadgets

Google Glass visual search app helps users identify what they see

| September 29, 2014

A version of the CamFind app from Image Searcher has been developed for the wearable device.

The startup’s image recognition app has been designed to work with Google Glass, enabling a wearer of the optical head-mounted display to look at something and CamFind will identify whatever the user may be looking at within seconds.

CamFind utilizes AI for image recognition.

The visual search app recognizes images by using artificial intelligence (AI). It combines this technology with crowdsourcing, giving humans the ability to correct the identification of images.

In an exclusive interview with VentureBeat, the CEO of Image Searcher, Dominik Mazur, said that in as little as 12 seconds, CamFind is capable of generating an accurate answer for an image query and it can take mere milliseconds if the computer vision recognizes it on the first try.

Brad Folkens, the chief technology officer said that “It really takes the friction out of the process.” Folkens added that “When we started this, we found that mobile search was broken. We make it so you can look at something and then get an answer. When you can do it fast, it turns from a novelty into a utility.”

Folkens did say that while 12 seconds might seem like a long time to wait for an answer when people have become accustomed to wanting immediate results, it is much faster than any other alternative available to users while they are on the go. For instance, the visual search app can identify clothing brands or shoe brands. Therefore, if a Google Glass wearer liked the shoes someone else was wearing, they could find out the brand. In the future, when Glass steps into the e-commerce space, consumers will be able to buy what they see when they are inspired to do so.

The CamFind Google Glass app is likely to succeed where Google Goggles failed.

A while back, Google had previously developed a smartphone app called Google Goggles, which allowed users to take a picture of a wine bottle and obtain useful information about it. However, this app did not work most of the time and the app was taken down by Google.

It is not yet known when the CamFind app will be available for Google Glass, but Image Searcher has submitted its application for approval.

Smartwatch from Samsung to arrive this Fall in the US

| September 26, 2014

The Gear S will be available via four American wireless carriers.

American consumers who are interested in owning a smartwatch that is not a companion to their smartphone, will be able to obtain one of these wearable devices soon because Samsung announced earlier this week that its Gear S watch will be arriving at Sprint, At&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile this Autumn.

The Gear S is the first watch of its kind to act independently of a smartphone.

The South Korean electronics company unveiled its Gear S at the IFA 2014 in Berlin. It became the first smartwatch to be developed by a major brand with the ability to make calls and display notifications without requiring the assistance of a mobile phone.

This wearable has many notable features including a 2 inch curved Super AMOLED display. It also has customizable screen clock faces, 3G connectivity and is powered by the Tizen operating system, which a representative from Samsung claims will offer a library of over 1,000 apps at launch.

Even though the watch has a built-in microphone and speaker, it can be paired with a Bluetooth accessory known as the Samsung Gear Circle headset, which is a device that enables users to wirelessly listen to music and receive calls.

In addition, the wearable technology has fitness monitoring features. It is equipped with an optical pedometer and heart rate monitor. The band has been designed to measure the user’s biometric data throughout the day and lets them analyze this data via Samsung’s S Health app. Users who engage in running are also likely to appreciate the Nike+ app, which comes with the watch and helps monitor jogs.

The actual release date and price of Samsungs’s new smartwatch has yet to be released.

In an email that was received by Android Central from T-Mobile, the Gear S will be available by the wireless carrier’s Equipment Installment Plan and more details regarding the plan and watch will be made available in October.

Although it has not yet been revealed when Samsung’s Gear S smartwatch will be officially released for sale or how much it will cost, the wearable device is expected to be put on display in stores starting today, September 26.