Google I/O Conference 2017 – The Big announcements!

Google is currently holding their annual developer’s conference. The conference in held in their secret Mountain View Headquarters. Ok, it’s not secret, but it sounds like it should be.

What is Google IO?

The conference is highly anticipated each year with Google being one of the most impressive technology innovators.

To save you the trouble of attending the conference, we’ve picked out what appears to be the four most exciting technologies announced this year at Google IO.

Some smart photographic technology

Google IO has announced something exceptionally clever. They are looking into creating a camera with photo AI that can accurately filter out any obstructions. As can be seen in the showcase photo below, the technology was able to identify the fence as an obstruction and remove it entirely.

I can’t say I’m personally much of a fan of baseball, but having attended several motoring events and struggling to get a good photo through the fencing, this looks to be pretty impressive.

A before and after showcasing Googles impressive photographic AI

VPS (Visual Positioning System)

Have you ever gone somewhere any struggled to find the exit? Struggling to find your room in a hotel? Or maybe just really need the toilet badly? Well, Google IO has presented the VPS, a visual positioning system designed to scan your surroundings to identify where you are within a building. (Is it just me or did that sound like a JML advert?)

The device utilizes Tango technology to scan your surroundings and in time, is planned to be able to identify your exact location solely based on the objects around you.

The Daydream Headset

Ok, this one is cheating a little, but bear with me here.

Yes, Google did announce their VR headset at last year’s conference. However, last year they announced that the Daydream Headset was intended to be a ‘low cost’ alternative to Oculus Rift or Vive designed to work with Smartphones.

Well, it seems that Google thinks that a stand-alone unit might also be a good idea. Now, a new VR product isn’t exactly news either. We report on them quite often enough to know that VR is a favorite buzz product at the moment.

Google has also announced however that they are planning to release the Daydream on the Samsung phone. A phone which has an exceptionally limited number of peripherals in the VR market. So this should at least be welcome news to Samsung fans. However, very little further details revealed about the actual headset itself.

Google Lens

Google I/O announced further details about the planned Google Lens. Similar to the VPS technology, Google Lens is being designed as, quite literally, a smart camera.

What can it do?

• Need to get your phone on the Wifi? Just show it the details on the router, it will connect up to the internet automatically. Yes, it will identify the network, read the password and input it all for you.
• Not sure what a food item is on a menu? Just show it the name and ask it. It’ll show you a picture.
• Planning on using a company? Show the phone the front of the business, and it can tell you what the recent reviews have been like.

While on the surface this product might sound a little tech-overboard. If integrated into a headset device, maybe a fresh pair of shades, this could spell the beginning of a truly interactive high street. Think about it; you could walk along a street and have digital information for everything you see.

It would be like Watchdogs, except maybe it will be good.

Is that it?

Yes, it would appear that this year Google are looking to innovate rather than create. Very little on display is new. Most of the announcements were already known, but what we have seen is some critical updates to some highly anticipated products.

We will, of course, let you know if we hear of anything else, but for the moment, we have plenty to be excited about!