Solve Sodoku Puzzles in No Time

New Google Goggles app that solves Sudoku puzzles

You could say it rather defeats the game's purpose.

But Google has unveiled a new version of its Goggles app that it says can solve any Sudoku puzzles just by snapping a picture of it. The internet giant has produced a short video which it has posted on its blog and YouTube which shows how the puzzle-solving application works.

The firm sent one of its software engineers, simply equipped with a Google Nexus S smartphone, to take on 2009 Sudoku champion Tammy McLeod. Even with a decent headstart, the human competitor was well and truly trounced by the Sudoku novice equipped with the app.

The user simply takes a photo of the puzzle with the smartphone's camera and text recognition software recognises the numbers and works out the answer within seconds, before filling in the grid's squares. Unsurprisingly, Google Goggles is banned from Sudoku competitions.

The new 1.3 version of Google Goggles can also scan barcodes 'almost instantly', the firm's blog claims. After opening Goggles and hovering over the barcode the phone vibrates when it has recognised the product and will bring back web reviews and price comparison sites. Read More...