A new iPhone application, available now, allows you to translate words in real-time using the camera.
Word Lens, by QuestVisual, is available in the Apple App Store for free. The application is an augmented reality app that will translate words in real-time on the screen using the iPhone"s camera. The developers have been working on the project for over two years. Although the application is free, there are in-app purchases for translation to and from Spanish.
TechCrunch explains that the makers plan to support additional languages soon. Otavio Good and John DeWeese created the application and are self funded. "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," said founder Good.
The application is mindblowing and useful. Translation isn"t perfect and the application doesn"t work well against smaller text but it"s a start to a technology that will change the way we interact with people worldwide. The future is here, the future is now.