Google Expands ‘Train of Thought’ Technology to Voice and Image Queries

During Google’s Inside Search 2011 event, the company unveiled several new features of their search engine which will integrate into the existing search platform within the next few weeks.
Google Expands ‘Train of Thought’ Technology to Voice and Image Queries
The Google logo at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. (Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images)
6/14/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/111926397.jpg" alt="The Google logo at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. (Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images)" title="The Google logo at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. (Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1801542"/></a>
The Google logo at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. (Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images)
During Google’s Inside Search 2011 event, the company unveiled several new features of their search engine which will integrate into the existing search platform within the next few weeks.

The show was centered on optimizing a user’s search for knowledge by removing obstacles in the path of his “train of thought”.

These obstacles included speed, relevance, and simplicity.

Google engineers demonstrated the reduction in time for searches created by their already-implemented instant search technology, automatically delivering query suggestions and results as a user typed.

Most of the improvements rolling out soon will be built upon this instant platform.

Google’s new voice recognition system will allow users to search queries without having to type a single word. A user can simply speak their search query into their device, be it an Android phone or their laptop, and the engine will deliver results.

The voice recognition system is also integrating a massive new language translation system. According to Mike Cohen, the Manager of Speech technology, the system incorporates some 230 billion words worth several decades of CPU time and will be available in 27 languages to roughly “two-thirds of the world”.

The system was demonstrated when the search query “translate squirrel to Spanish” was spoken verbally into a device. The engine immediately returned the Spanish translation for “squirrel” in its search result translation tool.

The translation tool will also be integrated into Google’s new Goggles image recognition search technology. This was demonstrated when a photo of a beverage menu in Russia was captured on a device utilizing Google. The device than translated the words on the sign into English.

Goggles was displayed in many other ways. An unrecognized personal photo that had not ever been published was dragged into the image search screen. Results were instantly delivered for not only the location and landmark within the photo, but also similar images of the same area.

Other improvements to the instant system include Instant Images, also using the new Goggles technology, which will bring the instant results system of text search to images. Pages of images will be instantly delivered as a user types his or her image search query.

Instant pages will also be showing up soon for the search engine. This feature will allow the top search results to be loaded instantly when they are delivered, allowing them to be accessed as soon as they are clicked.

Google has also unveiled a new design for their mobile platform which will allow easier local searches and install virtual buttons for new features at the bottom of their user interface.