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Google’s Lookout App Helps Blind People Experience the World

谷歌Lookout应用帮助盲人体验世界

Google has launched a new app designed to help blind people explore their surroundings.

谷歌推出一款旨在帮助盲人探索周围环境的应用程序。

The free app, called Lookout, is currently available to users in the United States who own a Google Pixel device. The company says it hopes to bring Lookout to more devices and additional countries soon.

目前，拥有Google Pixel设备的美国用户已经可以使用这款名为“Lookout”的免费应用。谷歌公司表示，他们希望尽快让更多设备和国家可以使用Lookout应用。

The app was first announced at Google's I/O developer conference in May 2018. Since then, the company says it has been testing and working to improve the quality of its results.

这款应用最先于2018年5月在谷歌 I/O开发者大会上公布。谷歌表示，自那时起，公司一直在进行测试，致力于改善结果质量。

The app uses technology similar to Google Lens. That product uses machine learning to recognize text and objects through a device's camera. Users can then receive information about or take actions related to the text and recognized objects.

该应用所使用的技术与Google Lens类似。Google Lens通过设备上的相机利用机器学习技术来识别文本和物体。随后，用户可以接收到与文本及所识别物体有关的信息或采取相关行动。

Lookout builds on this same technology, but aims to provide assistance to people who are blind or have low vision.

Lookout应用采用相同技术，但是这款应用旨在为盲人或视力低下者提供协助。

The app uses a device's camera to recognize text and objects and then provide voice descriptions about what it sees.

这款应用利用设备上的相机来识别文本和物体，然后进行语音描述。

Lookout is not designed to describe everything, but instead seeks tosearch outthings that people would most likelycare about. The app can learn to judge what things are most important to a person over time.

Lookout应用并不会对一切事物进行描述，它力图找出人们最可能关心的事情。随着时间的推移，该应用可以学会判断什么是对用户来说最重要的事情。

Google says the app operates best when the user wears a device around the neck or inside a pocket, with the camera lens pointed outward.

谷歌表示，当用户将设备放在颈部周围或口袋里、并让摄像头朝外时，可以发挥出应用的最佳性能。

Lookout has three main settings for people to use.

Lookout应用有三种主要模式可供人们使用。

The Explore setting is designed to provide assistance for peoplecarrying outdaily activities or for identifying things in new places. A Shopping setting can capture products and help users identify their money. The Quick Read setting can help usersgo throughtheir mail, read signs or identify other printed materials.

探索模式旨在为进行日常活动或在新地方识别物品的用户提供帮助。购物模式可以拍摄产品并帮助用户识别产品价格。快速阅读模式可以帮助用户浏览邮件、读取指示牌或识别其他印刷资料。

Users can control parts of the app through a fingerprint sensor. For example, the sensor can be used to change operating settings orgothroughrecent results captured by the camera. The app has three different detail levels that can be activated to provide more or less information about objects.

用户可以通过指纹传感器控制应用的部分功能。举例来说，传感器可用来改变操作模式或查阅相机拍下的最近结果。这款应用提供三种不同的详细程度，激活后可提供物体的详细信息或笼统信息。

Google says the goal of the app is to provide more independence to the nearly 253 million people in the world who are blind or have severe vision difficulties.

谷歌表示，这款应用的目标是为全世界近2.53亿盲人和严重视力障碍患者提供更多独立性。

There are other apps and devices designed to assist these people, too.

还有其他应用和设备为这一人群提供协助。

Microsoft's free Seeing AI app works similarly to Google Lookout. Microsoft calls its system – launched for iPhone users in 2017 — a "talking camera for the blind." Seeing AI can recognize text, objects and people and speaks results to users.

微软的免费应用Seeing AI的原理与谷歌Lookout应用相似。微软称其在2017年为iPhone用户推出的系统是“盲人的语音相机”。Seeing AI可以识别文本、物体和人，并为用户播报结果。

Microsoft says the system can provide audio sounds that relate to current light levels around the user. A recently released version also reportedly lets users put their fingers over a photo of something to get a sense of how the object feels. The app produces small vibrations and sounds to help this process.

微软公司表示，这一系统可以提供与用户周围当前光线水平有关联的声音。据报道，最近发布的版本还可以让用户将手指放在照片上，感知照片中的物体。这款应用会产生微小的振动和声音，为这一过程提供帮助。

Another free app, called Be My Eyes, connects blind or low-sight individuals with sighted volunteers through live video calls.

另一款免费应用Be My Eyes通过实时视频电话将盲人或低视力人群与可视志愿者联系起来。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩报道。