Software

Found in Translation

An iPhone app translates foreign-language signs

Published

13 years ago

December 23, 2010

Louis M. Brill Signs of the Times December 2010 Issue

American tourists unfamiliar with foreign languages have long been vexed by signs they don’t understand when travelling abroad. Now, according to a www.cnn.com report, relief is in sight; Quest Visual has developed the World Lens iPhone app, which automatically translates a sign’s text into English. Word Lens employs the phone’s camera and server software to interpret the message and projects the words towards the sign where the camera is pointing.

Currently, Word Lens only offers Spanish-to-English translation, but Quest Visual is reportedly planning to offer other language translations.

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