Note to students. The best applications for recognizing and translating text from photos for Android and iOS. Quickly translate text from photos to Android, iOC, Windows Phone Translator that can translate from photos

For translation from a picture, among which there is Yandex.Translator for Android ().

What's the point

You upload a picture or photo to the site, and Yandex recognizes the text on it and translates it.

For example, you can take a photo of a menu, a sign, or a chart with captions. The translator is not very picky about the quality of the photo; a photo taken at an angle or stretched will do.

I noticed that a photo taken with a Samsung phone camera is recognized much worse than a photo from a normal camera or iPhone. It's about the quality of the optics and the resolution of the image. With Samsung it is possible to recognize only large letters.

What languages ​​are pictures recognized from?

From English, Russian, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish, Ukrainian, French, Chinese, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Czech - a total of 15 languages.

What languages ​​are the pictures translated into?

Almost any language; there are currently 94 languages ​​in the project.

Translation of pictures is also available in the mobile version online, and there are also applications for iOS and Android.

How to use - general algorithm

Nuances of use or how to improve translation quality

Pay attention to the option "Words", "Lines" and "Blocks". This is an important setting that affects the quality of the translation. It appears after you have uploaded the image.

• “Words” - what is written in the picture is perceived as separate words. And it is translated word by word.
• “Lines” – the text is translated line by line.
• “Blocks” – the text is translated as a single whole.

There is a line in my picture, so I select "Lines". And by default everything would be translated according to a separate word, which would be wrong. After all, I am translating the sentence “The Ministry of Health is tired of warning” as a whole, and not word by word.

And if I were translating a graph where incomprehensible words are assigned to the X and Y axis, I would select the “Words” option.

And the photographed paragraph from the book, of course, should be translated as a block.

Compare how the inscription in the picture is translated when you select the “Words” and “Lines” options:

Alternatives to a translator

The main competitor of Yandex.Translate is Google Translate. But it recognizes the Russian language worse. And in order to use it, you need to perform some tricky steps:

1. Upload the image to drive.google.com and right-click the file.
2. Select “Open with” -> “Google Docs”.

This is the recognition stage that converts the image into text.

From a mobile device, everything is much simpler: there are ones that support translation from the camera, including translators from Yandex, Abbyy, Google and Microsoft.

How does translation from a picture from Yandex.Translate work?

The work is divided into two stages: image recognition and text translation. And a neural network, a self-learning system, provides great help. The more pictures she recognizes and translates, the better she knows how to do it correctly.

Previously, text translation used rigid algorithms that matched the source word to the translation according to the dictionary and grammar rules. The result was terrible.

Then statistical translation came into play - when a huge array of ready-made paired original-translation texts was involved in the translation. The algorithm searched for it and calculated the most likely result of the translation of a phrase or word. And the entire text was assembled from such probabilistic pieces. Yandex has used a statistical system since its launch.

Now a neural network is involved, which is capable of self-learning and copes well with processing natural data. And text and pictures are natural data. The neural network translates entire sentences without splitting them into individual phrases and words.

Since statistical translation works better in some cases, and a neural network works better in others, both are used. This is a hybrid translation system that is used now.

The quality has improved significantly. There are, of course, mistakes, but still this is a step forward compared to what it was 10 years ago.

Not every one of us has the opportunity or talent to learn several foreign languages, but when visiting new countries, making acquaintances or getting a job, we cannot do without these skills. To make life easier for its users, Google has released a photo translator - an addition to Google Translate - Word Lens. This mobile application translates text from a photograph, picture or other images with text. Google Photo Translator takes a photo and translates it into one of the 38 most common languages ​​in the world.

How to use Google Translate as a text translator with photos?

First of all, install the Google Translate application with Word Lens; you do not need to download Word Lens separately, it is already built into the Google Translate application.

Download Google Translate for free and after that you can translate text from photos.

To use the Google Translate application as a photo translator, you need to launch the application, allow access to the camera on your mobile phone, point the smartphone camera at a picture with, for example, English or German languages. This is all. The online application will translate the text in the picture and display it to you. At the very beginning, when the application was first released, only a few languages ​​were available (Russian, English, French, Spanish, German and Italian), but now this list has been expanded to 38 languages, including the following translations:

• from Portuguese to Russian;
• from Japanese to Russian;
• from Chinese to Russian,
• from Arabic to Russian;
• even from Ukrainian to Russian;
• from Croatian to Russian;
• from Danish to Russian;
• from Mongolian to Russian;
• from French to Russian;
• and so on

But the developers of the photo text translator do not intend to stop there either. It is worth noting that all users were waiting for the release of simultaneous translation. They promise to further improve translation from pictures in real time so that it takes no more than a couple of seconds. Other features of the program are highlighted:

• users can hear how the text from the translated language sounds;
• synchronization with other applications and social media. networks;
• work offline, but only for iOS. To do this, you need to first download the dictionary to your phone;
• translation into simplified Chinese.

What does translating text from a photo with Google Translate look like in action?

The only negative is that translating text from a photo containing a handwritten test is difficult because it is difficult for the application to recognize it. Now you can only work in pairs with the English language, but later you can choose sets of languages ​​yourself. In Google Translate, for communication, you currently have to enter and translate text one by one, but they promise to change this, and then languages ​​will be detected automatically, which will also be applied to Word Lens.

In the video you can see the principle of operation of the mobile application - translator with photo:

Let us remind you that previously you had to pay money to buy languages ​​for translating text from photographs, but after purchasing Quest Visual, any linguistic set became free, although not for long. Therefore, you should quickly download Google Translate from Word Lens to your phone if you are going on a trip and your English, Spanish or French is not good.

From personal experience of using an online photo translator

Quite recently I went on a trip to Hungary. The Hungarian language itself is very difficult, and Hungarians are in no hurry to learn English. Therefore, the application often came to the rescue, especially in the store, when choosing goods and souvenirs. A small life hack— I recommend uploading the dictionary to the application in advance so that you can translate text from photos without the Internet (offline).

The thought came to me that how much the world is improving. Of course, knowledge of languages ​​in itself is useful and necessary, but thanks to new technologies, this knowledge is not something unique. And if you look 10-20 years into the future, I see a picture where not only texts from photos and images are translated online, but also voices. When will the profession of translator be transferred to robots or such applications based on the first text in the photo, and they will still have to look for a new use for themselves. Alas.

Translation of voice or sound online

Among other things, the Google Translate application supports voice translation. So, while traveling, you can speak into the application in your language, and it will translate into the desired one and vice versa. The world is changing.

Help in learning a foreign language

I thought that the article would not be complete if I did not recommend an application that would help you not to use all kinds of online translators with photos or images, you will simply immediately understand the words. The application is as simple as possible. You learn only 10 words a day.

Easy Ten - 10 words a day - that's 70 new words a week, 300 new words a month, 3650 new words a year. At the same time, a native speaker uses an average of 3,000 words in everyday life.

And finally start learning 10 words a day. That's 5 minutes a day!

That’s all for sure now :)

Users are faced with the need to translate text from photos online. Situations can be different: there is text in a photograph that needs to be extracted from the image and translated into another language, there is an image of a document in a foreign language, text from the picture needs to be translated, etc.

You can use text recognition programs that use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to extract text from images. Then, the text extracted from their photo can be translated using a translator. If the original image is of good quality, then in most cases free online text recognition services will do.

In this case, the entire operation takes place in two stages: first, text recognition occurs in a program or online service, and then the text is translated using an online translator or an application installed on the computer. You can, of course, copy text from a photo manually, but this is not always justified.

Is there a way to combine two technologies in one place: immediately recognize and transfer a test from a photo online? Unlike mobile apps, there is little choice for desktop users. But, nevertheless, I found two options for how to translate text from an image online in one place, without the help of programs and other services.

An online photo translator will recognize the text in the image and then translate it into the desired language.

When translating from images online, pay attention to some points:

• the quality of text recognition depends on the quality of the original image
• In order for the service to open the picture without problems, the image must be saved in a common format (JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, etc.)
• if possible, check the extracted text to eliminate recognition errors
• the text is translated using machine translation, so the translation may not be perfect

We will use Yandex Translator and the Free Online OCR online service, which has functionality for translation of text extracted from photographs. You can use these services to translate from English into Russian, or use other language pairs of supported languages.

Yandex Translator for translation from pictures

Yandex.Translator integrates OCR optical character recognition technology, with which text is extracted from photographs. Then, using Yandex Translator technologies, the extracted text is translated into the selected language.

Go through the following steps sequentially:

1. Log in to Yandex Translator in the “Pictures” tab.
2. Select the source language. To do this, click on the name of the language (English is displayed by default). If you don't know what language is in the image, the translator will start auto-detection of the language.
3. Select the language to translate. By default, the Russian language is selected. To change the language, click on the language name and select another supported language.
4. Select a file on your computer or drag a picture into the online translator window.

1. After Yandex Translator recognizes the text from the photo, click “Open in Translator”.

Two fields will open in the translator window: one with text in a foreign language (in this case, English), the other with a translation into Russian (or another supported language).

1. If the photo was of poor quality, it makes sense to check the recognition quality. Compare the translated text with the original in the picture, correct any errors found.

• You can change the translation in Yandex Translator. To do this, turn on the “New translation technology” switch. The translation is carried out simultaneously by a neural network and a statistical model. The algorithm automatically selects the best translation option.

1. Copy the translated text into a text editor. If necessary, edit the machine translation and correct errors.

Translation from photos online to Free Online OCR

The free online service Free Online OCR is designed to recognize characters from files of supported formats. The service is suitable for translation, since it optionally has capabilities for translating recognized text.

Unlike Yandex Translator, Free Online OCR achieves acceptable recognition quality only on fairly simple images, without the presence of foreign elements in the picture.

Follow these steps:

1. Login to .
2. In the “Select your file” option, click on the “Browse” button, select a file on your computer.
3. In the “Recognition language(s) (you can select multiple)” option, select the required language from which you want to translate (you can select multiple languages). Click on the field and add the desired language from the list.
4. Click on the “Upload + OCR” button.

After recognition, the text from the image will be displayed in a special field. Check the recognized text for errors.

Copy the text into a text editor. If necessary, edit and correct errors.

Conclusion

Using Yandex Translator and the Free Online OCR online service, you can translate text into the desired language from photographs or pictures online. The text from the image will be extracted and translated into Russian or another supported language.

Many of us have an endless passion for travel and mostly we have a need to translate from English into Russian. We want to visit new cities and countries, get acquainted with other cultures, communicate with many new and interesting people. Of all the barriers that prevent us from fully enjoying new, vibrant travel experiences, the language barrier is one of the most important. Our inability to understand speech that is foreign to us becomes a significant obstacle to communication, which inspires us to search for ways to, if not eliminate, then at least smooth out this deficiency. One of these methods is the use of auxiliary programs that turn our smartphone into a fast and convenient translator of spoken and written speech. In this material, I will look at one of these mobile programs - “Translator from Google”, which allows not only to perform the usual oral and written translation, but also to translate the text on the photo we have. But first things first.

Google now has the ability to translate using the camera

Google launched its web translation service back in 2006, and a few years later mobile forms of the translator for Android and iOS saw the light. At first, the application was criticized for its rather rigid, “machine” translation text, limited capabilities and unstable functionality. But the constant work carried out by the developers to improve the capabilities of the application, as well as the transfer of the translator engine to “GNTP” (neural machine translation) in 2016, significantly improved its position, and now this tool is not only one of the most popular, but also one of the most reliable.

An important step in the development of the application was Google’s purchase of Quest Visual, the developer of the Word Lens mobile application, which allows you to translate any foreign text using a camera. Google first made the mentioned program free, and then included it in the functionality of its translator, which learned not only to translate written and spoken speech, but also to translate using a mobile phone camera.

How to use Google Translator

The translator's capabilities allow you to use your smartphone's camera to translate text in real time, as well as translate text from a photo you've already taken.

To take advantage of the translator's capabilities, first of all, download it to your gadget (Android or iOS).

After launching, select the language from which the translation will be performed on the top left, and the language into which the translation will be performed on the right.

1. To translate using a camera, click on the corresponding camera icon in the program menu on the left.
2. Then point your phone camera at the text you need to translate, and you will almost immediately see its translation on the screen of your device.

Visually it looks something like this:

The second option Translating text from a photo involves taking a photograph and then translating the foreign text on it.

You can also translate text from English into Russian (for example) from an image already on your phone. To do this, you need to launch the application, click on the mentioned camera button, and then tap on the picture button to the left of the red bottom button (this will allow you to select a photo from the phone’s memory).

Other features of the translator allow you to use voice translation (a button with a microphone image), as well as text (a button with a snake image).

Is it possible to use image translations on a PC?

The best way to do this on a computer is to use . The version of Google translator on a PC in the form of the popular network service https://translate.google.com/?hl=ru does not allow processing of photographs with further translation of the text on them. Therefore, an alternative option is to use any Android emulator for Windows OS, which allows you to install this application on your computer and subsequently use its capabilities.

1. Install one of the popular Android emulators on your PC (for example, Bluestacks 2 or Nox Player).
2. Launch the emulator, log in, enter your Google account information.
3. Then use the search to find Google Translator and install it.
4. After that, find its icon on the emulator desktop, click on it, and use its capabilities on your PC (as far as it is functional).

Alternative solutions are to use a number of stationary programs at the “Screen Translator” level (you select a part of the screen with text, and the translator performs its translation). “Translator”, “Photron Image Translator” and other analogues that allow you to translate text from an existing image into the language we need.

The capabilities of “Photron Image Translator” claim to translate text from an image loaded into the program

Conclusion

The capabilities of Google Translator allow us to quickly translate the text we need by simply pointing the camera of our smartphone at such text. Other features of the application include the translation of text on a photo already in the device’s memory, as well as the usual voice and text translation. If you are looking for alternatives to such a translator on a PC, then I recommend trying the stationary alternatives listed above, which in some cases are not inferior to their mobile counterpart.

Today, all modern smartphones are equipped with fairly high-quality cameras that are capable of not only taking ordinary photographs, but also significantly simplifying other important operations, for example, creating electronic versions of printed documents or quickly translating text from a photo. But in order to do this, you need to install some applications, which will be discussed in today’s article.

How to translate text from a photo on a smartphone and tablet?

Today, the market offers mobile phones and tablet computers on various operating systems, so for convenience, we will consider several options for different platforms.

A program for translating photos on Android smartphones

In the Play Market you can find many applications that allow you to recognize text in a photo, but only a few of them really do their job well. And one of the most popular and convenient applications is Google Translate, which allows you to translate text directly from a photo. To use it, simply download and install it, then launch it and select the mode for photographing the object. The program will independently activate your smartphone’s camera, all you have to do is take a photo (of a sign, sign, advertisement, etc.), and the application will translate its meaning from the original language to the user-specified one.

Similar in functionality is the Abbyy TextGraber+Translator application, which allows you to select one of 60 translation directions, recognize photographed text, translate it, and save it in a user-friendly format.

Text translation program for iOS devices

Today in the AppStore you can also easily find many programs for translating text from an image, but the most convenient and popular are Lingvo Dictionaries - a photo translator that can easily cope with the recognition of photographed text, but it is important to take into account good lighting and the correct shooting angle. An extensive database of dictionaries allows you to select up to 30 translation directions. It is also worth paying attention to the simple and convenient free photo translator Photo Translate, which has modest functionality, but does an excellent job of converting text from an image and translating it. It is important to remember that this program only works online, and without an available Internet connection you will not be able to translate anything.

As an alternative for tourists who actively travel to different countries, the iSignTranslate application is perfect, the main task of which is to correctly and quickly translate various road signs, signs and advertisements on a smartphone in real time. In the basic version, only 2 languages ​​are available - English and Russian, the rest can be downloaded for an additional fee. Third-party online services are used for translation, so it is important to have a stable Internet connection.

A program for translating text into photos for the Windows Phone mobile platform

Use the Translator program, which you can download completely free from the Windows Phone store. By installing it on your smartphone, you will get all the basic functionality of a photo translator. A distinctive feature of the program is its ability to overlay already translated text on top of the original photo. The function is quite new and not always convenient, so the user has the opportunity to disable it.

That's all. We hope that now, when you are getting ready to travel, you will not forget to download the most suitable application for you to translate text from a photo and navigate your new country without any problems.