Eyes of the Beholder

After launching in late 2009, the Google Goggles app has expanded to the iPhone. Google Goggles is an innovative new take on visual searching, that allows users to take a picture of art- and text-based images and search the web.

Here's an intro that was created by Google back in December 09, when it hit the Android mobile market:



Though it's not useful for 3-d objects, like a computer mouse, as demonstrated by IntoMobile, it is pretty good for book covers, logos, product packaging and labels, bar codes, and artwork. (CNET's Web Crawler blog compared how the app differs between the Android and iPhone versions, coming to the conclusion that they are pretty much the same, save a few bells and whistles.)

I've spent the last few days thinking of how this app could be useful in the archives. There are currently search engines that use an image as the actual query, such as TinEye. This browser-based site takes either an uploaded image or image URL and searches the web for the same or edited versions (Here's a demo video). This method is useful if you are searching who has used your own images for their sites (and to determine if they have paid the prescribed licensing fees!) or are trying to find more information on an unknown photo that may be somewhere else. However, this requires that the image in question is already in digital format and that you are right in front of your computer. Google Goggles allows you to take a quick, low-res digital photo of the item in question and instantly gives you the search results, saving you a step.

In the past, I've found random artwork in a collection where I've had no idea what it is and who it was by. In the past, searching words like "woman+harp+blindfold+painting" may give me a variety of artworks. But, with an app like Google Goggles, I can take a quick picture of it and it gives me search results for Watt's Hope painting.

Overall, the main attraction of this app is its portability. Sometimes, when at an on-site appraisal, it may be difficult to know exactly whether a piece of artwork or an item with a vintage logo may be worth something. Perhaps this app can make the decision a bit easier!