Google has announced an update to its smart camera feature, Google Lens, which now includes the ability to detect skin symptoms. The company has also hinted at integrating the Bard AI assistant.
Google Lens allows users to use their phone's camera for various tasks such as searching, online shopping, translating foreign menus, and finding nearby stores. This visual search feature is now being used over 12 billion times per month. Apart from its casual applications, Google Lens also has crucial health-related functionalities. In 2021, Google introduced a feature called DermAssist, which allowed users to upload three photos of their skin and answer a few questions to receive information about possible skin issues. With the latest update, users can simply take or upload a photo of their skin through Lens to receive visual search results for possible medical conditions. This functionality can also be used for other bodily anomalies, such as bumps on the lips, patterns on the nail surface, or hair loss problems. Google claims that DermAssist, trained using machine learning and reviewed by dermatologists, can recognize 288 types of skin, nail, and hair symptoms.
During the May 2023 I/O conference, Google announced the integration of Bard with Google Lens. In a few weeks, users will be able to input images into Bard, which will activate the underlying Google Lens feature to identify the content of the image. For example, users can upload a photo of a new pair of sandals and ask Google Bard for the product name or fashion advice, or they can simply press the "Google it" button to place an order directly on a shopping website.
Other features of Google Lens include support for text translation in hundreds of languages and a "homework help" feature that assists users in solving math problems by taking photos of them. In December of last year, Google announced its development of an AI model capable of understanding doctors' handwritten prescriptions and enhancing the display of medication information, aiming to digitize medical operations. These new functionalities will also be integrated into Google Lens in the future.