Google Image Swirl is still brewing to perfection in Google Labs but we can already have a taste of it now.
In a nutshell, Google Swirl makes image search a better and faster experience. Similar images are all grouped together according to relevancy, and pictures similar to those in the group would then branch out into a smaller group. The process goes on until there’s no result for another similar picture.
For example, typing “Google” into the search box would give us…
12 Google images:
Clicking on one of the images would produce a “swirl” effect:
More from Google:
“Image Swirl expands on technologies developed for Similar Images and Picasa Face Recognition to discern how images should be grouped together and build hierarchies out of these groups. Each thumbnail on the initial results page represents an algorithmically-determined representative group of images with similar appearance and meaning. These aren’t just the most relevant images — they are the most relevant groups of images.
Image Swirl currently works for more than 200,000 queries and we plan to include more queries in the future. Available queries will auto-complete as you start to type in the search box, similar to Google Suggest.”
Try image swirling today and leave your feedback to Google here!
