Google has acquired the augmented reality app, Word Lens Translator maker, Quest Visual. The app, which was released in December 2010 for iOS, followed by an Android version in July 2012 and a Google Glass release in November 2013, can translate texts seen through the device’s camera. In the announcement blog, Quest Visual says that “by joining Google, we can incorporate Quest Visual’s technology into Google Translate’s broad language coverage and translation capabilities in the future.” Apart from this, we also might see Word Lens integration into Google Glass getting even better.
The start-up has also made both its app and the language packs free to download, although for a limited time till the company transition to Google, in other words, before Google pulls them down. Quest Visual was founded in 2009 by former video game developer Otavio Good. Google has confirmed the deal, but did not disclose the terms. In case you’ve never seen Word Lens in action, here’s the original introduction video:
SOURCE: Quest Visual
