Google has unveiled a new update to its Lookout app, which can assist blind or visually-impaired consumers with handling groceries.
The Food Label module, a new feature of Google Lookout, enables users to quickly identify packaged foods by pointing a phone camera at the label, enabling them to be properly identified.
"This can be particularly helpful if you’re putting away groceries and want to make sure you’re handling the right items that might feel the same to your touch," Scott Adams, product manager at Google Accessibility Engineering, explained.
"For example, Food Label would be able to distinguish between a can of corn and a can of green beans."
Additional Services
Google has also introduced Scan Document, a system that enables the user to take a snapshot of a document, which is then read about by the screen reader.
The tech giant's Lookout app is available for smartphones running Android 6.0 and later, and is available in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
"Expanding this app to more people and devices is part of our commitment to make the world's information universally accessible and to build helpful products with and for people with disabilities," Adams said.
Other recent features introduced by Google to Android phones include an Emergency Location Service to shorted emergency response times, an earthquake alert module, a scheduling assistant for motorists, and an aide to assist a peaceful night's sleep.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
