Showing posts with label chrome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chrome. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

A Gaggle Of Google Goodness

There's been a ton of really interesting collaboration and work coming out of Google recently, so I thought it'd worth taking the time to highlight just a few of these projects.

Sainsbury's Food Rescue

In the UK more than 20% of the food purchased in supermarkets is wasted and nearly 2/3rds of that food is perfectly edible.  To help drive awareness of the problem and reduce food waste in households across Britain, Sainsbury's and Google have partnered to create the Sainsbury's Food Rescue program.  Similarly to Spell Up, Sainsbury's Food Rescue used the Web Speech API to allow consumers to simply speak the ingredients that they have in their fridge while the site provides inspiration in the form of easy recipes that can be made with the food they might otherwise throw away.  Check out the intro video below or head on over to the Sainsbury's Food Rescue site to try it for yourself.



Spell Up

Next up is the latest Google Chrome experiment, Spell Up, which turns spelling into a game using just your voice.  As the project lead, Xavier Barrade writes on the Google blog:

As a student growing up in France, I was always looking for ways to improve my English, often with a heavy French-to-English dictionary in tow. Since then, technology has opened up a world of new educational opportunities, from simple searches to Google Translate (and our backpacks have gotten a lot lighter). But it can be hard to find time and the means to practice a new language. So when the Web Speech API made it possible to speak to our phones, tablets and computers, I got curious about whether this technology could help people learn a language more easily. 

That’s the idea behind Spell Up, a new word game and Chrome Experiment that helps you improve your English using your voice—and a modern browser, of course. It’s like a virtual spelling bee, with a twist.

We worked with game designers and teachers to make Spell Up both fun and educational. The goal of the game is to correctly spell the words you hear and stack them to build the highest word tower you can—letter by letter, word by word. The higher the tower gets, the more difficult the word challenges: You’ll be asked to pronounce words correctly, solve word jumbles and guess mystery words. You can earn bonuses and coins to level up faster.

Spell Up works best in Chrome on your computer and on Android phones and tablets. (It also works on iPhones and iPads, but you’ll need to type rather than talk.) Whether you’re just learning English or you’re already a pro, check it out! And if you’re a teacher, we encourage you to try it out in your classroom. 

Check it out below or head on over to the Google Spell Up site


Rubik's Cube Google Doodle & Chrome Cube Lab

Google marked the 40th anniversary of the invention of the Rubik's Cube by creating this incredible interactive Rubik's Cube Google Doodle.  It was one of the most technically ambitious Google Doodles which Wired has thoroughly documented in this behind-the-scenes article.  Beyond just the Doodle is a a cool Chrome Experiment that can be found at the Chrome Cube Lab.  The Chrome experiment lets developers customize and submit their own Rubik's cube designs and features a gallery of the best submissions.  Check out the video below:

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Google Chrome- World Wide Maze & The Peanut Gallery

The past couple weeks have seen the launch of two more excellent Chrome Experiments.  One from the Google Chrome team in Japan & the other from the Data Arts team in San Francisco.

Chrome World Wide Maze, developed by the Google Chrome team in Japan) turns any website into a playable 3d maze where you control a marble ball and must navigate it around a multi-dimensional course.  By syncing with your Chrome browser on Desktop and mobile your smartphone becomes the controller.  It's a great way to demonstrates the benefits and syncing functionality of using Chrome across devices.  All the user needs to do is open Chrome on their mobile (provided they are signed in) and the desktop tab becomes the mobile game controller.  For signed in users, it's an incredibly powerful way to show the seamless transition from desktop to mobile when you use Chrome on difference devices (which is often the biggest pain point for any media bridging experience).
Check out the video below or head on over to chrome.com/maze to have a play.


The second Chrome Experiment that I'm excited about is called The Peanut Gallery.  Developed by the Creative Lab Data Arts team in San Francisco, 'PEANUT GALLERY is a Chrome Experiment that lets you add intertitles to old film clips using your voice, then share those clips with your friends. It uses your computer's microphone and the Web Speech API in Google Chrome to turn speech into text.'

The Web Speech API functionality in Chrome has a ton of potential.  My team has been working on various prototypes that allow users to control different sorts of experiences using voice control, particularly in situations (such as certain video tutorials) where the users hands might be occupied.  It'll be interesting to see how various brands can carry this idea forward in creating voice controlled experiences using just the baked-in functionality of the Chrome browser.  Anyhow, check out the video below or (as always) have a play around yourself over at Peanut Gallery Films.



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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Chrome Super Sync Sports

As regular readers of this blog know, I'm somewhat obsessed with media bridging experiences.  That is, how do you seamlessly (relatively speaking) bridge an experience between desktop and mobile, or how do you create a bridge between a digital billboard and your smartphone, etc, etc.  My esteemed colleagues at the Google Creative Lab here in London have also been thinking about the same thing from an even broader perspective.  They have just launched a delightful new experience called Chrome Super Sync Sports that uses 'HTML5 features such as WebSockets for real-time gaming synchronicity on desktop and mobile, and Canvas and CSS3 for rich and engaging visuals.'  Here's how it works (as described in the official Google blog post):

'Smartphones and tablets are great for all sorts of games, and lately we've been thinking about new ways to play. Chrome Super Sync Sports is a new Chrome Experiment that uses the unique features of mobile devices to create a new gaming experience on big and small screens. In this game up to four friends can compete in running, swimming and cycling on a shared computer screen, using their smartphones or tablets as game controllers.'

Check out the overview video below and have a play around yourself at Chrome Super Sync Sports.

Friday, December 14, 2012

More Great Stuff From Google - Jam With Chrome & Google Search App

Besides the recent launch of Google Maps for iOS, there's been a ton of great stuff coming from Google lately so I thought I'd shout out a few things you may or may not have seen.

Jam With Chrome
If you haven't seen Jam with Chrome, you really must check it out.  The latest Chrome Experiment is absolutely mind blowing from a technical perspective as well as demonstrating what's possible these days with just a web browser.  Jam With Chrome allows you to invite friends into a live ‘Jam’ session to play any of 19 instruments to collaboratively create music from within the Chrome browser from anywhere in the world on pretty much any device, all in real-time.  It's hard to describe how cool this is without experiencing it yourself so head on over to Jam With Chrome and/or check out the video below.
Ads For The Google Search App
How promote the knowledge graph & voice search integration in the Google Search App in a way that communicates the power of those features without coming across as too techy?  Venables Bell & Partners nailed it in these spots.  Check them out below.


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

EasyWay Language Center

Here's a nice use of the speech recognition technology that's built into Chrome.  EasyWay Language Language center (and their Brazilian agency Loducca) created a simple browser based game/tool for students to practice their English pronunciation using Google's speech recognition technology.

Visitors to the site are presented with silly cartoons that ask the user to repeat a word.  If Google recognizes the word when you speak it, you move onto the next level.  If not, try again.  As it says on the site 'If Google can understand you, anyone can.'

Just a fantastic idea.  Check out the video below or experience it yourself here.


Additional Articles:  Adverblog | Fast Co. Create

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Heineken - The Fever Keeper

Heineken and their various agencies have done an amazing job of activating their Champions league sponsorship and providing both utility & entertainment to football fans through initiatives such as Heineken Star Player.  The latest work (from Vidal Parternship) is aimed squarely at Champions league fans in the US.  Due to the time difference, most games occur when people are at work and therefore can't watch the games live.  As any sports fan who's tried to watch a Tivoed game knows, you essentially need to enforce a communications blackout from match time until you get home and can actually watch the recorded game.  There's just too many opportunities to see the results of the game accidentally while browsing the web.  Enter Heineken Fever Keeper, a Chrome browser extension that blanks out any revealing information about the match, regardless of what site you're on.

Genius...now if only there was something similar for smartphones.  Check out the video below for more detail and to see it in action.


Additional Articles: PSFK | Adverblog