If you have ever wanted to know a number of calories that are in the food you eat, no worries because it will be so much easier in the future. You will just take out your smartphone, take a snap and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will tell you the calorie count in your food.
During a tech conference in Boston, the online giant announced that it is developing an application called Im2Calories. The application will take advantage of image-processing technology to identify the food in the image. After performing a Pixel analysis, the company will then determine how many calories are in the food. The information from the analysis will be based on the publicly available nutritional information.
One of the concerns raised about the application is the accuracy of the data provided. However, the application is not designed to provide information that is completely accurate. In fact, the data provided is based on estimates. Im2Calories is more of an artificially intelligent machine that learns by observation and data analysis. It is expected to get better with time according to Kevin Murphy, a research scientist at Google.
Mr. Murphy also said that the system uses semi-automation to try and make the information as precise as it can or near perfect. The application has been designed to give users an easier calorie tracking experience rather than having to write a food schedule. Using the app is as easy as taking a photo of your food and sharing it.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) follows a series of many major firms such as Facebook in their efforts to focus on food image processing technology. Facebook recently introduced a new photo app that uses facial recognition to detect friends in your photos before allowing you to group and share them categorically.
The company has not revealed when the application will be available for public use. One of the company’s salespersons claimed that the application is in the research and development phase and that not much progress has been made.