Word Lens app for on the go translation
Word Lens is much more than your run-of-the-mill translation app and if you have watched the above video, you will know why already. Developed by QuestVisual’s Otavia Good and John DeWeese over two and a half years, the app works by using OCR and instantly translating any text that the smartphone’s camera is pointed at, overlaying the translated text on the original image. Pretty cool and definitely useful the next time you head to a Chinese restaurant.
Word Lens is currently available only for the iPhone and supports translation from Spanish to English for now, but according to QuestVisual, there are plans to add major European language packs and even a version to aid the blind. The app is free as of now but you do have to cough up $5 for the Spanish language pack, which sounds reasonable considering the time you save which otherwise might be wasted on trying to figure out a foreign tongue.
🙁 What, no Android version? Still, that app is the future if it’s real…
Chinese will not be supported for a long time, because of the complexity or OCR on chinese charaters. It won’t work at a Chinese restaurant unless the menu is in Spanish/other European language.
Waiting for it on my EVO…saw it work on iPhone..great app.