Google has added a new feature to its Google Arts & Culture App (iOS and Android) which has thrown the social media into bouts of excitement.
The new feature which has shot the app to the most-downloaded free on the App Store compares a user’s selfie with the company’s catalog of historical artworks, looking for the just-perfect fine art match.
The feature uses computer-vision tech to examine what is similar about your face to the thousands of pieces of art that are shared with Google by museums and other institutions.
Google says this new feature is merely experimental — the app has been around since 2016.
It is worth knowing that of all the mobile Google apps out there, “Arts & Culture” had undoubtedly been among the software giant’s lesser-known apps. It offers a suite of terrific features for those interested in art, but it’s certainly not among Google’s most widely used apps. That is changing quite quickly, however, because people have discovered a new feature that they’re having a blast with right now on social media.
Formerly known as the Google Art Project and launched in February 2011, the new initiative from the tech giant aims to make great art more accessible in this digital age, using some of the technology tools that it has created.
The project was launched in collaboration with 17 international museums, including the Tate Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Uffizi in Florence.
The new feature is available only in the US for now.
