Word Lens: Pro’s and Con’s
Word Lens is an app for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th Generation) that according to its creators can be used to “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 app provides instant visual translation from the written target language to one’s native language, at this point limited to Spanish to English and English to Spanish. This in itself is an incredibly exciting advancement, so I’ll stop here for a moment to let that sink in. It will be a Godsend to travelers. It really will, and I am excited about the possibilities it unlocks.
That said, however, the two principal con’s are the visual capabilities of the viewfinder in the wobbly hands of a user, and linguistic limitations. The viewfinder works best when used to capture a flat surface, as any curve in the object being viewed (for example packaging of a medication) understandably decreases the app’s character recognition functionality. This, I’m sure is something the Quest Visual folks are aware of and, I hope, aim to improve. Ornate fonts - again, understandably - also impede proper translation for the same unrecognizable-character reason. And an unsteady grip while holding the device also diminishes the accuracy of the translation, but this one - pardon the pun - is out of their hands.
Second, the translations are of the caliber that one would expect from an online translator - weak, at best. They substitute word by word as do many translation services on the web, which in most cases yields at least a vague notion of the intended meaning, oftentimes, all that is needed. Thus, the translations will aid in a crisis, will help travelers make their way through a land of unfamiliar signage, getting the general idea of what’s around them, but should not be relied upon for accuracy, and certainly are not - at this point, at least - grammatically correct. What thrills me is that I am certain that with work and the proper linguistic guidance, Word Lens and similar apps will be able to approximate native accuracy in their translations. Basic grammatical errors as seen in the video, such as the butchering of the input Spanish (hopefully an unintentional oversight) to yield more smoothly flowing English translations, should not be necessary. The app needs to be programmed to recognize phrases, idioms, nuances, chunks of language, not just words - this is the next step. It will take a lot of work, but it can be done, it will be worth it, and it’s the kind of project I’d love to sink my teeth into. It’s truly an amazing advancement and I do support this app because I believe it has great potential. Word Lens 1.0 is an important first step. Congratulations, guys.
