Google Local: Sending Robots to Search Stores?

Writing by Brick Marketing on Sunday, 6 of January , 2008 at 5:09 pm

A little news for 2008, Google has recently filed patents that indicate they have the ability to read text in images. The idea behind this could be very useful when applied to local businesses. Robots would take snapshots of the shelves within stores and with Google´s technology, inventory would be virtually instant, taking the names from the images.

Here´s a snippet of what SEL has to say about this new development:

There’s a science fiction element to this world of robots running amuck in supermarkets, but there’s also a lot of science involved in the documents. The descriptions of how text might be taken from street view images describes a number of techniques that account for problems with images, such as those caused by low contrast from shadows and shading. The use of consecutive images from the Street View cameras can also enhance the reading of text that might be blurry or partially hidden from view in one or more shots.

The applications that this technology could be used for are vast. Google local search could become much simpler, with everything indexed. Not to mention, you could easily check to see which stores near you have a certain product in stock. Definitely some interesting ideas!

                      Category: Google Local                      

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