The international press was gathered this Wednesday, February 8 in Paris for an event organized by Google. With such diversity — and such a carbon footprint — many of us imagined a few demonstrations of Bard, the ChatGPT fashioned and unveiled recently by Google. Unfortunately, Google talked about it, but showed little or nothing. The conference focused on Maps, Translation and Search services.
So this is multisearch?
“Cameras are a great way to explore and understand our world.writes Google in a blog post dedicated to new features integrated into Search. Today, Google Lens is used more than 10 billion times each month, to search directly from their camera or saved images.”. With this growth in the use of Google Lens, the Californian firm presented some interesting functions.
In the coming months, for example, you will be able to use Google Lens to “search from your screen” via an Android phone. In concrete terms, you can search from a photo or video directly from your favorite sites or applications, such as instant messaging services and video applications. Example: if a friend transmits a photo of a super monument in Paris, you only have to long press the start button to get contextual data.
The other novelty of Google Search resides in the multisearch. With this, you can search from images and text simultaneously. By taking a photo of an armchair, Google will be able to offer you a selection of similar products. And if you want to change the color or texture, the request can be made to Google. Multisearch is now accessible everywhere in the world in mobile version, on all phones integrating Google Lens and in all available languages.
The future of Google Maps is shaping up
It had already been presented, but the Immersive View function was again invited in a Google keynote. This tool integrated into Maps will make it possible to display a 3D model of certain places thanks to the combination of billions of aerial images and Street View. This feature also offers useful information such as the weather, road traffic and frequentation of a place. Example: if you are planning a visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, you can fly over the building virtually and see, for example, where the entrances are.
A related feature has also caused a wow of admiration to some influencers. It will be possible to explore the restaurants nearby, and even take a look inside to get an idea of the atmosphere before booking. Google explains using “Neural Radiation Fields (NeRF), an advanced AI technique that transforms ordinary images into 3D representations”. These NeRF make it possible to recreate a space “accurately including lighting, material texture and what’s in the background”. In short, to create a realistic 3D rendering from photos of the interior of a restaurant.
Finally, Google presented some tools related to augmented reality. The search function with Live View intends to help you find things around you, such as ATMs, restaurants, parks or public transport stops, when you wave your phone on the street. Note that this Live View feature is starting to roll out at some airports to help with navigation. It should become available everywhere in the next few months.