# Google Goggles is Awesome **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284 "2010-03-04T15:34:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/1 "2010-03-04T15:34:54Z")
I you’re not familiar, Google Goggles is a Droid app where you point the camera at something, and it anylizes the image to give you more information on it. I toyed with it a bit when I first downloaded it, but today for the first time I actually used it for something. In another thread, someone linked to [www.futilitycloset.com](http://www.futilitycloset.com), an interesting little blog. Right now, the second post on the first page is [this](http://www.futilitycloset.com/2010/03/03/waterproof/). I really liked the picture at the top of that post, so I pulled up Google Goggles on my Droid and pointed it at my computer screen. A few seconds later, I had the name of the painting and of the artist (Le Deluge, by Leon Comerre in case anyone’s wondering). Without Google Goggles, I would have been trying to type a description into Google’s search bar. “Dark painting with lots of naked people and a lion and a bear in the rain” certainly brings up some interesting results, but nothing about the picture I was trying to find the source of. Google Goggles is awesome. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![50million](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/9fc348/32.png) [@50million](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50million)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/2 "2010-03-04T20:57:57Z")
I can’t find Goggles in the market for some reason. How did you get it? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/3 "2010-03-05T01:09:48Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > I you’re not familiar, Google Goggles is a Droid app where you point the camera at something, and it anylizes the image to give you more information on it… I never heard of it, but then I don’t have a cell phone (much less a Droid phone). However, as an AI geek, I am interested in what it does (and more importantly, _how_ it works). Do you have links to any decent, preferably in-depth, articles? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/4 "2010-03-05T15:04:32Z")
Is the app’s motto “We accept it, one of us”? ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/5 "2010-03-05T16:33:12Z")
Here’s Google’s blurb about it: [http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/](http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/) I just searched “goggles” on the droid market and it came up. I installed it a while back though. Maybe they pulled it for some reason? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/6 "2010-03-05T16:55:17Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > However, as an AI geek, I am interested in what it does (and more importantly, how it works). As an entirely different sort of geek, I’m disappointed that it does _anything._ ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/7 "2010-03-05T19:07:38Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > Here’s Google’s blurb about it: > > [Google Goggles](http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/) Yeah, I found that yesterday. (I have to point out that it felt slightly odd using google to google “google goggles”). Not very much there at all, which is why I asked if you could point me to more. FWIW, in some of my grad school work (human/robot interaction), we relied in some part on the [SIFT](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale-invariant_feature_transform) algorithm to perform object recognition, and I was wondering if the goggles relies on a similar technique. > [@WotNot](#): > > As an entirely different sort of geek, I’m disappointed that it does _anything._ Y’know, I’m embarrassed to admit that there was at least 10 seconds of confusion and mental gear grinding between reading that and chuckling. My (personal) geek cred was just dealt a severe blow. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![50million](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/9fc348/32.png) [@50million](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50million)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/8 "2010-03-05T19:31:53Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > Here’s Google’s blurb about it: > > [Google Goggles](http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/) > > I just searched “goggles” on the droid market and it came up. I installed it a while back though. Maybe they pulled it for some reason? I looked around for a while on the net and found that you have to have android 1.6 or higher. I’m on 1.5, so apparently Goggles doesn’t even show up when I look in the market. Supposedly Sprint will be upgrading people with older versions some time this month. 2.1 is the latest version. I did watch a video of Goggles, and it does look really cool. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/9 "2010-03-05T19:44:17Z")
Would it be possible to upgrade to a later version of android? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/10 "2010-03-05T23:45:06Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > As an entirely different sort of geek, I’m disappointed that it does _anything._ I don’t get it. Do you hate Google or something? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/11 "2010-03-05T23:56:11Z")
Yet another reason to buy a Droid. I am deciding right now whether I want to settle on a Blackberry or an iPhone, or instead to get a really great open source device. Droid unlocked is $600. ETA: Uploading an image for scanning and analysis doesn’t seem to be tied to the API. That means it could be used to do its work uncoupled from the OS and work anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/12 "2010-03-06T00:42:57Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I don’t get it. Do you hate Google or something? [The goggles! They do nothing!]([Urban Dictionary: The](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The) goggles! They do nothing!) ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/13 "2010-03-06T00:55:31Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > [The goggles! They do nothing!]([Urban Dictionary: The](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The) goggles! They do nothing!) Ah, gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/14 "2010-03-06T01:12:54Z")
I think this is the first step in our progression to being the Borg. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/15 "2010-03-06T05:23:40Z")
Dude, we’ve been on that progression for _years_. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/16 "2010-03-06T11:54:24Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Would it be possible to upgrade to a later version of android? You can root many android phones, particularly the HTC devices for which there is a _very_ active dev community. Google “Cyanogen android” - that young man is doing wonders with the platform, and really should be getting paid big bucks by Google. My phone has already been upgraded over the air from android 1.5 to 1.6, and Vodafone have said that their UK legacy devices are going to be upgraded ota to android 2.something. I’ll go back to factory settings, accept the upgrade, and use that as a base, and then use one of cyanogens releases again ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/17 "2010-03-06T11:57:34Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Dude, we’ve been on that progression for _years_. Yup. I wish I could live to about 150 or so, just to see what happens. It’s enormously interesting to be living through our equivalent of the industrial revolution. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/18 "2010-03-06T14:02:24Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Is the app’s motto “We accept it, one of us”? Google Goggle giggle ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/19 "2010-03-06T16:49:08Z")
Another similar use of ANY cell phone with a camera is 2D bar codes. You don’t even have to take the picture - just turn on the camera feature, and scan your camera over that code. Think of them as your own personal bar code that, instead of finding the price of an item, it places your info into a phone; for instance, your name, address, website, phone number, etc. It is quite easy to create your own bar code and put it on your business card. They have started using them in ads in magazines (“I like those pants. Oh look, a 2D bar code!”) and scan the code with your cell camera - and it takes you to the website where you could find the pants, price, location of nearest store, etc. (You can Google **2D barcodes** to find out more, with lots of links.) ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284/20 "2010-03-06T18:46:57Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > Yeah, I found that yesterday. (I have to point out that it felt slightly odd using google to google “google goggles”). Not very much there at all, which is why I asked if you could point me to more. In that case I’ve got nuthin’. I have no idea how it works, but it sure is fun to play with. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-goggles-is-awesome/531284.md?page=2)