Google Bubble Zoom makes smartphone comic book reading easier with machine learning
Reading comic books on a smartphone is a bit of a bummer. Comic books are designed to be read on a 7×10.5" page, which doesn't translate very well to a ~5-inch screen. It's usually pretty hard to see the entire page and read the text, which leads to lots of zooming and panning.
Google is tackling this problem the way it seems to be tackling every problem lately: with machine learning. Google has taught its army of computers to detect the speech bubbles in comic books, allowing you to zoom in on them with just a tap. The bubbles lift off the page and get bigger without affecting the underlying image. This lets you see the entire page while still reading the text. Google calls the feature "Bubble Zoom."
Bubble Zoom is available today in Google Play Books for Android. We'd guess an iOS version is coming later. For now, Bubble Zoom is just a "technical preview" but all Marvel and DC collected volumes are supported. Google says it hopes to eventually bring the feature to "all the comics and manga ever made."
Google announced the feature at the San Diego Comic-Con, and it's celebrating the event with a 50 percent off sale on "select" Marvel and DC comics—just use the code "SDCC2016" by July 24.
Source: Ars technica
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