Although the Gemini innovations are the ones that are attracting the most attention, we must remember that this is not the only use that AI has; Google itself knows this very well, because in the last year it has updated practically all of its apps with some AI-based function that goes far beyond being a simple voice assistant.
Photography, for example, is one of the aspects that has improved the most with the help of AI, and we are not just talking about improving our vacation photos. The latest innovation presented by the Google productivity team is a good example, as it is capable of improving document scanning to a surprising level.
Google Drive already has a document scanner for a long time; Basically, it uses our mobile camera to recognize the paper and capture the content in the form of an image. From there, character recognition allows you to create different files that are stored in the Google cloud and are accessible by all apps, such as Google Docs.
However, the big problem with scanning documents with a camera is that the conditions are not always the best; Whether due to lack of light, shadows in the environment, or simply due to the lack of printing resolution, it is very common end up with files that are not usable.
From now on, Google Drive is going to receive a major improvement in the document scanner, which is capable of converting even the worst photos into a high-quality image; and the best of all, is that it will fully automatic wayand without the user needing to do anything at all.
The Google Drive document scanner (left) and the new improvements (right)
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Automatic adjustments will be able to detect possible problems and eliminate them by applying filters and adjusting the image, such as shadows, white balance, improving lighting, and other improvements. Judging by the image shared by Google, the results will be surprising; It shows a purchase receipt that has been photographed in poor condition, probably in the same establishment, and the final result shows the text clearly, allowing the content to be read easily.
Of course, we can save the final result in JPEG image files or PDF documentsand the improvements should result in better character recognition.
Automatic improvements to the Google Drive scanner are already reaching some Google Workplace users, but the company promises that users with a personal Google account, that is, the majority, you will also receive these improvements. The initial rollout will be spread out over the next few weeks and into the beginning of the year, so it’s likely that most people won’t be able to use this functionality for at least a couple of months.
