Reading paperback books brings great pleasure, but it can be inconvenient if you need to study or do some research. One of the benefits of reading electronic text is – at any point in time, if you don’t know the definition of a single word or understand a phrase, you can select it to perform a Google search. A Chinese engineer has now developed a device called Googstick that allows you to do the same thing on paper-printed text, from books to magazines to a sheet of paper.
How does it work? The process is simple. The user starts by powering the portable Googtick on, placing it on the table directly above their reading material. The bottom of the device has a built-in suction cup to ensure that it doesn’t fall over. Finally, Bluetooth connects the device to an app on the user’s phone, iOS/Android smartphone, PC, Mac, or tablet.
Once set up, as the user reads along, they can point their index fingers to any word they want to look up. The Googstick sees that word via its camera, commands the app to search for it on Google, then Wikipedia pops up on the app’s screen displaying the results.
If the user wishes to select an entire sentence or part of one, they can also select and search it by sliding their finger along underneath it. They can even choose a whole paragraph and copy/paste it into their computer or smartphone, by placing one index finger at the start of the paragraph and the other index finger at the end.
The Googstick can identify an area the size of two A4-sized sheets of paper, and it works in twelve languages, but the creators say that three other languages are “coming soon.” Its 3,200-mAh lithium battery runs for five hours per charge
The Googstick, demonstrated in the video below, is currently being funded via an Australia-based Kickstarter project, with a pledge of around US$93 (AUD$129) and a planned retail price US$260.
