Lately, there seems to be so much going on around Google. There's nothing surprising really. These guys are in the habit of always looking out for ways to enhance user experience such as testing an old feature, updating it or coming up with a fresh one, watching out for possible misuse or misrepresentation of information. Google also innovates ways to provide better data transparency, new ways to better serve its interface users either via web or mobile and the various niche communities.
Research Carousel Carousels are sliders in search engines that provide an expanded preview of searches. It also allows searchers to instantly narrow down the search by choosing a category from the carousel. Lately, Google seems to be testing a "research" search carousel box. In a tweet by geoffangell, using the search query "paint sprayers" returns a "Research Paint Sprayers" carousel just above search results. There is also a "Refine by type" box. But this does not look like the case for all searches. Could the feature be undergoing tests?
The same query returns with a "Shop for paint sprayer on Google" box of sponsor ads on my end. Whichever the case is, I think that the carousel feature provides content-rich results but still leaves more room for enhancing search experience depending on the context of the search query. Are you a shopping fanatic? This feature works best for you!
Google Trends
Google Trends is a public web facility of Google Inc., based on Google Search, that shows how often a particular search term is entered relative to the total search volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages (Google Trends 2006)
Fast forward eleven years today. Google Trends can be a window into the world, giving us a peek into what people are searching for—whether it’s elections, music, sports or games.
Google recently announced that they are opening up more data to show what people, in different places, are looking for in real time, whether just to feed their curiosity or give that extra detail in writing another story. It's easy to use and shows you suggestions on the different ways you can explore your searches by changing the location or limiting the time range or categories of your search. The feature has also made available real-time search trends on particular search terms in YouTube, Images Search, News and Google Shopping.
In each search trend filter, you can customise the data for "Interest over time" and "Interest by region." There are also dedicated boxes for "Related Topics" and "Related Queries." The "Compare" feature lets you find results for two or more search queries. For example, you like to compare two or three national football teams; the feature will instantly give you a visual data comparison about their popularity. Interesting? Helpful, I guess:)
Google is also looking at interesting innovations for its consumer products. One that has been patented but hasn’t made its way into a real product is a motorised Pixelbook display that can adjust the screen for you.
Google’s Patented Motorised Pixelbook Display
Well, I'm already a Google fan. But talk about changing the how laptop screens open up in a different way (a simple touch or tap) is something else. Just this week, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent a Google invention - a Pixelbook motorised hinge that is capable of moving the lid of your laptop from an open or closed position with the help of a touch-sensitive pad. The mechanism depends on multiple sensors. A sensor is also dedicated to detecting the face of the user and adjusts the lid to an angle that keeps the face covered by camera view or keeps the lid in its best viewing position. That's not all, it has a facial recognition system that verifies and unlock a user automatically, and when it loses sight of you, it will automatically close and lock to prevent unauthorised use.
The concept has been patented at this time but who knows if it will make its way into a real product. But what do you think of this idea - smart, outrageously lazy, or creepy?
AI Software To Detect Sneak Peekers on Your Phone
Recently, Google researchers presented a project called electronic screen protector. A Google Pixel Phone will use its front camera and artificial intelligence to detect persons are looking at the screen. In a video demonstration by Google researcher, Hee Jung Ryu, the software interrupts a messaging app to display a camera view that identifies the peeking perpetrator. The software can recognise a person's gaze in a span of 2 milliseconds only.
In the Spirit of Giving: Here Comes the Donate Button
It’s been another #GivingTuesday. And just in time for the holidays, Google added a Donate button to its knowledge graphs when your search returns recognised non-profit organisations. Nonprofits will need to enrol for this button to be available. Users can directly contribute money to nonprofits through the Donate button. A significant amount of charitable donations happens during the holidays soon hopefully, the Donate button will make it easier and encourage generous hearts and Christmas shoppers to give to charities. The feature is currently available to charities based in the US. At the moment, the Donate button hasn’t reached many known charities yet in the country.
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