From TechCrunch
Instantly translate printed words from one language to another with your built-in video camera, in real time! Use Word Lens on vacation, business travel, and just for fun.
“The iPhone app, which hit iTunes last night, is the culmination of 2 1/2 years of work from founders Otavio Good and John DeWeese. The paid app, which currently offers only English to Spanish and Spanish to English translation for $4.99, uses Optical Character Recognition technology to execute something which might as well be magic. This is what the future, literally, looks like.
Founder Good explains the app’s process simply, ‘It tries to find out what the letters are and then looks in the dictionary. Then it draws the words back on the screen in translation.’ Right now the app is mostly word for word translation, useful if you’re looking to get the gist of something like a dish on a menu or what a road sign says.”
Good says “The translation isn’t perfect, but it gets the point across.”
