MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. quietly snapped up mobile photo-recognition software developer Neven Vision for an undisclosed sum.
Neven Vision’s technology automatically extracts information from photos, allowing users to categorize images or search for specific types of pictures. Google plans to use the company’s software to expand Picasa, its free photo-organizing application.
“(Neven Vision’s) technology just may make it a lot easier for you to organize and find the photos you care about,” Picasa Product Manager Adrian Graham wrote on Google’s blog. “We don’t have any specific features to show off today, but we’re looking forward to having more to share with you soon.”
Mobile photo-recognition technology is just beginning to be deployed in the United States by search companies and mobile marketing firms. Starbucks Corp. earlier this year launched one of the first such campaigns in the United States with a scavenger hunt-type trivia game that encourages users to submit photos of answers to trivia questions. Participants are rewarded with gift cards and discounts as well as philanthropic suggestions.
