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Introducing Word Lens

questvisual.com

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Re: Introducing Word Lens

#81

Post by frisco »

51Cards wrote: post #80
frisco wrote: post #39

These guys are going to have some hard decisions to make in the next few months. This has such incredible potential I'd be really sad to see it get bought and languish as a side-feature at Google. Run as a business, rather than a free technology project liable to be side-lined on whatever whim, and really developed for the next 5 years, think about what it could be! I mean, just look at what it is today on day one! T…

I doubt they will be bought by Google, Apple is probably already writing cheques. Apple has been getting the pants beat off them by Google in mobile translation for awhile now. If there is a patent behind this then Apple will grab this for their stable just to keep it off the Android platform. It would be a huge 'one-up' for them. (which makes me sad as I strongly prefer Android devices) In time you'll see it license…

Fine, substitute "Apple" for "Google" in my post. My point remains.

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#82

Post by ugh »

johns wrote: post #55
staunch wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will admit that those sample cards are hand picked to be well suited to the application right? High contrast, quality printing, large fonts, etc.

Download it and try it. Works pretty much as advertised.

It’s also free (not the translation part but the word recognition and replacement part) so there is no excuse to not try it out yourself or getting a friend to try it out for you (should you lack an iPhone).

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#83

Post by solutionyogi »

jf wrote: post #76
solutionyogi wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Joel, are you associated with the App Team OR just another geek impressed with their technology?

I know Otavio and John through SHDH. I've known about this application for a long time, Otavio showed me an early prototype of this running on his laptop over a year ago. I'm ecstatic that they finally released it. (I'm also happy that I was able to get their story on HN before TechCrunch :D)

Yep, you beat them by 20 minutes. TechCrunch story is up as well. :)

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#84

Post by gus_massa »

solutionyogi wrote: post #37

Wow. Just Wow. I had to put the App to test. Printed some simple English words and tried it out. Original paper: http://imgur.com/EYsko What the App shows in REALTIME: http://imgur.com/FhaSW Comparison with Google Translate: http://imgur.com/GOd94.jpg [EDIT: Note, Translating Muerto Fin to English in Google Translate, does result in 'Dead End'. Can any Spanish reader clarify why the original Google Translate chose to…

(Native Spanish speaker here.)

First: This app is amazing!

But I think that this app is doing almost a word by word translations, without a list of usual expressions or grammatical analysis.

For example, the correct translation of 'Dead End' is 'callejón sin salida', that means literally something like 'street without exit'. Translating word by word 'Dead End' you obtain 'Muerto Fin' that is unintelligible.

Another example from the video is the translation of

  'Lengua boliviana con una salsa picante de anchoas'.
The app translates this as

  'Tongue Bolivian with a sauce spicy of anchovies',
But the correct translations is something like

  'Bolivian Tongue with a spicy sauce of anchovies',
because in a translation between English and Spanish you must reverse the order of the adjectives and nouns.

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#85

Post by 51Cards »

frisco wrote: post #81
51Cards wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt they will be bought by Google, Apple is probably already writing cheques. Apple has been getting the pants beat off them by Google in mobile translation for awhile now. If there is a patent behind this then Apple will grab this for their stable just to keep it off the Android platform. It would be a huge 'one-up' for them. (which makes me sad as I strongly prefer Android devices) In time you'll see it license…

Fine, substitute "Apple" for "Google" in my post. My point remains.

No I agree very much with the point you made... this easily has enough legs to stand on its own without being bought up.

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#86

Post by johndeweese »

gus_massa wrote: post #84
solutionyogi wrote: post #37

Wow. Just Wow. I had to put the App to test. Printed some simple English words and tried it out. Original paper: http://imgur.com/EYsko What the App shows in REALTIME: http://imgur.com/FhaSW Comparison with Google Translate: http://imgur.com/GOd94.jpg [EDIT: Note, Translating Muerto Fin to English in Google Translate, does result in 'Dead End'. Can any Spanish reader clarify why the original Google Translate chose to…

(Native Spanish speaker here.) First: This app is amazing! But I think that this app is doing almost a word by word translations, without a list of usual expressions or grammatical analysis. For example, the correct translation of 'Dead End' is 'callejón sin salida' , that means literally something like 'street without exit' . Translating word by word 'Dead End' you obtain 'Muerto Fin' that is unintelligible. Another…

yep, this is a word-for-word translation, because it's fast and it gets the point across. we're working to improve translation quality and finesse, but it's a much harder problem to understand grammar. so, we hope it gives the general meaning, and you can learn to piece it apart.

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#87

Post by alextgordon »

foresterh wrote: post #67
jorgem wrote: post #64

AUDIO OUT for the blind. EDIT: People with limited vision are often considered blind, so they could use this app.

Not to sound harsh, but I don't think the blind would find a lot of use for this app...

Try reading a book with your eyes closed.

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#88

Post by solutionyogi »

johndeweese wrote: post #86
gus_massa wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Native Spanish speaker here.) First: This app is amazing! But I think that this app is doing almost a word by word translations, without a list of usual expressions or grammatical analysis. For example, the correct translation of 'Dead End' is 'callejón sin salida' , that means literally something like 'street without exit' . Translating word by word 'Dead End' you obtain 'Muerto Fin' that is unintelligible. Another…

yep, this is a word-for-word translation, because it's fast and it gets the point across. we're working to improve translation quality and finesse, but it's a much harder problem to understand grammar. so, we hope it gives the general meaning, and you can learn to piece it apart.

John, still, this is amazing for the first iteration. I wish you could licence 'grammar logic' from Google Translate and incorporate in your App.

Re: Introducing Word Lens

#89

Post by stevenrace »

Quite the understated title - a feat well worth hyperbole.

Can you speak upon the origins of the software?

Did this stem about from other projects/research (Edu, darpa, lone disillusioned coder..)?

I presume one could use dictionaries of things other than plaintext? Say symbols, objects, patterns? (for signage and 'custom' use)

Are you opposed to this being 'opensourced' at any time?

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