Google Lens is Redefining Search, Yet Again
Key Highlights :
Google's mobile application has become one of the most widely used products in the world, and it contains a powerful tool called Google Lens. Google Lens is a vision-based search engine that allows users to search what they see through their smartphones. It compares an uploaded or captured image to other images on the internet, providing context and second order information about the object. This week, Google announced an incredible new feature for Google Lens: the ability to search skin conditions.
Now, users can take a picture of their skin (e.g., a rash or discoloration) and match it with the most relevant results, providing insight into the condition. According to Lou Wang, Senior Director of Product Management for Google Search, “Describing an odd mole or rash on your skin can be hard to do with words alone. Fortunately, there’s a new way Lens can help, with the ability to search skin conditions that are visually similar to what you see on your skin. Just take a picture or upload a photo through Lens, and you’ll find visual matches to inform your search.”
The potential behind this technology is astounding. Google Lens has the potential to democratize an entire subsector of knowledge for the general population through easy-to-use applications. Furthermore, these tools may significantly augment clinician workflows; if a physician encounters a rash or rare condition that he/she has never seen before, these apps may be able to aid in the diagnostic process.
Google has revolutionized the modern concept of search and how information is digested. Now, Google Lens is harnessing this same technology for image based search across a variety of use-cases, redefining the power of search, yet again. Google Lens is a powerful tool that is making it easier to search for and identify skin conditions, and is changing the way we search and access information.
