DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXT TO SPEECH PROGRAM

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• PROGRAM: COMPLETED
• MATERIALS: (ALMOST COMPLETED)
• PAGES: MIN PAGE (60 pages)

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DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

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• PROGRAM: COMPLETED
• MATERIALS: (COMPLETED)
• PAGES: MIN PAGE (60 pages)

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Get solution to your medical problems with Google's Medical Information App

A release by Google confirmed that Google is rolling out a health feature that provides information about "common" medical conditions in response to related searches and also proffer the most acceptable and suitable solutions and prescriptions to the illness.

The application/facility provides medical illustrations, possible treatments and other data ahead of its traditional links to others' sites. Google developers say it worked with doctors to develop the service, but adds that it is not intended to replace visits to a professional. It is initially limited to the US.

It was added that it plans to extend the service across the globe, adding rarer ailments in time.
British doctors have welcomed the initiative, but caution that the information needs to be edited to become suitable for local markets. "One in 20 Google searches are for health-related information," said Prem Ramaswami, announcing the launch of the feature.

It was also noted that the application has a wide range of medical capabilities. A released by Dr Andrew, he said "We'll show you typical symptoms and treatments, as well as details on how common the condition is - whether it's critical, if it's contagious, what ages it affects, and more.
"For some conditions you'll also see high-quality illustrations from licensed medical illustrators. Once you get this basic info from Google, you should find it easier to do more research on other sites around the web, or know what questions to ask your doctor."

The effort is the latest in a series of moves into health by the search giant. Last year it revealed it was funding development of a cancer and heart-attack detector, which would involve placing nanoparticles in users' bloodstreams.

It has also bought the maker of a spoon for Parkinson's patients, is working on smart contact lenses for people with diabetes, and has invested in 23andMe, a start-up that sells genetics tests to the public.
'Unnecessary treatments' The latest service is an extension of Knowledge Graph - a Google initiative to map the various connections that link together different objects, facts and concepts.

 

 

 Expandable sections include a list of possible self-treatments for medical problems

The company introduced the information tool in 2012, and uses it to provide boxed summaries that appear to the top right-hand side of desktop searches, and above the results of its smartphone Search app.
Much of Knowledge Graph's information is sourced from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia written by its readers. While Wikipedia is hugely popular, its crowdsourced nature means its entries can include inaccuracies.

To minimise the risk of errors in the health-related tips, Google says it has had the information checked by doctors employed by itself and/or by Minnesota's Mayo Clinic.

Dr Andrew Goddard, from the UK's Royal College of Physicians, cautiously welcomed the development.
"The public have come to rely on Google and other search engines so it is important we understand how best to use these resources to allow people and patients to be engaged with their health and healthcare," he said.

"The involvement of the Mayo Clinic is reassuring but if it were to be rolled out in the UK we would like to see a UK badge of quality assurance."

Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chair of the British Medical Association's GP committee, added that the initiative had the potential to reduce pressure on family doctors if it encouraged the public to take care of minor conditions. But he too had concerns about Google's willingness to adapt to the UK's health system. "This experiment from Google may well have benefits although we will need more detail to see how practically it will work", he said.

"Most importantly it must be underpinned by clinical guidance from UK based health professionals as there are stark differences between the UK and the USA health systems and culture.
"Some evidence suggests that many patients in America are often exposed to unnecessary investigations and treatments that are not recommended here, partially owing to the profit driven incentive that underpins the USA's private health care system."

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Google Translate 'turns interpreter' with voice function

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Google developed a Translate app some months ago, and it was released that the Translate app can now act as an interpreter, with the addition of a real-time voice-translation mode.

It said the updated app would automatically recognise languages being spoken and translate them.

The update, launched last month, allowed users to instantly translate messages and other documents using their phone's camera.

But one academic said it would fail to understand the more complex linguistic tools, like Chinese, Japanese languages and other complicated languages. "For basic things, it might be very useful. My mother, for example, does not speak any other languages, but loves travelling, so she could find her way around a town.

"But it is never going to pick up the nuances, the cultural references or the humour," said Ariane Bogain, a senior lecturer in modern foreign languages at the University of Northumbria.

Prior to the update, Google's app could translate spoken or typed phrases and repeat them out loud. But it worked phrase-by-phrase, rather than in real time, and the pronunciations and rhythm of speech could sometimes be problematic if not properly controlled by the user. It may generate an unwanted result the moment the user was not able to pronounce the world eloquently.

The updated app can also instantly translate written text, using a smartphone camera

Users of the new app can also use their phone's camera to instantly translate phrases by snapping the picture of the phrases, using the Word Lens feature, which works without a wi-fi or a data connection.

A release by Google said: "The Translate app already lets you use camera mode to snap a photo of text and get a translation for it in 36 languages. Now, we're taking it to the next level and letting you instantly translate text using your camera.

"While using the Translate app, the user needs to just point the camera at a sign or text and he/she will see the translated text overlaid on your screen - even if you don't have an internet or data connection." It was developed to be offline application even though some features requires data connection or a wi-fi connection.

It said the feature was available for English to and from:

• French
• German
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish

Another release from Google said users could also "tap the mic to get into voice translation mode, tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will automatically recognise which of the two languages are being spoken, letting you have a more fluid conversation", the application was developed to suit the need of the users and also it can auto-differentiate between to or more languages been spoken by a user.

The company said the update took people "one step closer to turning [their smartphone] into a universal translator and to a world where language is no longer a barrier".

Limitations

While acknowledging the app's usefulness to holidaymakers struggling with the language, Ms Bogain said that major events, such as an EU summit, were not likely to begin using it.

She added that online translations conveyed the rough message - "but you are going to lose a lot in the translation".

Ms Bogain said: "One word can have various meanings, depending on the context, and I do not think that online translation tools are there yet.

"As lecturers, when we ask students to hand in translations, we can immediately spot who has used a translation tool because the phrasing is not natural. The message is roughly there, but something is lost.

"I do not think it is going to replace 15 years of training."

Other voice translation apps are already on the market, and Skype launched the function last month.

According to Google release, it was gathered that more than 500 million people use its version every month to make more than one billion translations per day.

Google said the update would be available to both Android and iOS over the course of this week.

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Facebook at Work app aims for role in the office

The new app resembles Facebook's main product, but keeps posts private within a specific company

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Facebook is launching a new app that aims to expand the US firm's presence within companies and other places of work.

The software is designed to provide a way for users to communicate as an alternative to email and other intranet systems.
The firm says information posted within the service is kept "secure, confidential and completely separate" from personal Facebook profiles.
The move poses a challenge to LinkedIn.
The work-focused social network recently announced its own plan to release a new app to help co-workers share information.
Facebook's move also threatens other established collaboration tools targeted at businesses including Yammer - which Microsoft bought for $1.2bn (£788m) in 2012 - Jive and MangoApps.Email overload

The service is designed to help avoid important messages being missed because of email overload

Facebook already has about 1.4 billion people using its platform at least once a month, but it is currently blocked in some workplaces.

The Menlo Park, California-based firm suggested one advantage it had over rival work communication tools was that people were already familiar with the way it worked, meaning firms could save on training costs.

Many companies are keen to adopt such software because of complaints that a deluge of messages has made email a poor tool to keep in touch with.

"Facebook at Work is a separate experience that gives employees the ability to connect and collaborate efficiently using Facebook tools - many that they're likely already using such as News Feed, Groups, messages and events," the social network said in a statement.

"The information shared among employees is only accessible to people in the company."

A spokeswoman added: "Internally at Facebook we've been using our product for years, and we're now looking forward to the feedback from our pilot partners to create the best possible experience."

One industry watcher said the move was no surprise.

"If you look how popular things like Yammer have already been, that shows that there is definitely an appetite for a business skew of Facebook itself," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe.

"Yammer already has a lot of the look, feel and functionality of Facebook, so it is a logical thing for Facebook to follow Yammer into the marketplace."

Microsoft says Yammer is already used by more than 200,000 companies worldwide

Advert-free

For now, the Facebook at Work app is free-to-use, but limited to an unnamed group of companies that will trial its use.

At this stage the work version will not feature adverts, nor will it gather data about its users that could be sold on to third parties.

"Businesses would be concerned if it became ad-supported with information shared for context-driven marketing posts - that would be a no-no for a lot of companies on data protection grounds," commented Mr Green.

"Companies would probably be happier paying a subscription fee - as is the case with Yammer - and having an ad-free closed environment that they can keep total data control over."

Facebook responded: "It's too early discuss future plans around ads or monetisation."

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