Pinterest has introduced ‘Lens’, a visual search tool that uses machine vision to detect objects in the real world & suggest related items on the service. Currently in beta, Lens is a tool inside the Pinterest mobile app. All that users need to do is point it at food or any other real world object like shoes, & Pinterest will return objects that it believes are related.
Here’s what it says on its blog:
Sometimes you spot something out in the world that looks interesting, but when you try to search for it online later, words fail you. You have this rich, colorful picture in your mind, but you can’t translate it into the words you need to find it.
At Pinterest, we’ve developed new experimental technology that, for the first time ever, is capable of seeing the world the way you do. Now there’s a way to discover ideas without having to find the right words to describe them first.
It’s called Lens (currently in beta), and it lets you use the camera in your Pinterest app to discover ideas inspired by objects you see out in the real world.
Just point Lens at a pair of shoes, then tap to see related styles or even ideas for what else to wear them with. Or try it on a table to find similar designs, and even other furniture from the same era. You can also use Lens with food. Just point it at broccoli or a pomegranate to see what recipes come up. Patterns and colors can also lead you in fun, interesting or even just plain weird new directions.
For now, Lens works best for finding home decor ideas, things to wear and food to eat. As more and more people give it a try, and we continue making improvements to our technology, results will get even better, and the range of objects Lens recognizes will get increasingly wider.
Eventually anything you see when you’re out and about can kick off a search for ideas to try. Just pull out your phone and see what Lens turns up.
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