Microsoft has a new app that is capable of recognising and identifying dogs by breed. Seriously.
Microsoft's Garage team has been churning out mobile apps left and right lately - probably in an attempt to further the company's new "cloud first, mobile first" vision, but its latest app project, called Fetch!, is especially interesting because it's all about man's best friend.
Fetch uses Microsoft's machine-learning to process images of dogs. It can recognise numerous classes, such as breeds. In other words: this app brings object recognition to an extraordinary new level. You can use it to identify a Dachshund or a Shih Tzu or a Beagle or a Border Collie or a German Shepherd or a Golden Retriever. The algorithms, which come from Microsoft's Research team, should get it correct each time.
The app's description says there’s also an extension collection of breeds that contain information such as disposition, size, coat and what types of families are best suited for each: "This is the kind of app you’re going to take out when you’re with your friends," Microsoft explained. "You’ll make fun of each other, comparing which breeds you look like, and posting the tagged photos."
So, to identify a dog, simply download the app for your iPhone, and then upload your own photo, and that's it. You can also use this website for the app in order to identify dog breeds from a desktop web browser. It's certainly an interesting concept, and in our tests, it works pretty well.
Previously, Microsoft Garage has released things like a custom lockscreen, a travel companion, and a gesture search app for Android Wear. Some of the team's projects are for Windows, while others are for iOS and Android.