Google’s PhotoScan app now automatically removes glare from old photos

Printing the photos gains popularity even in the digital age, and it undoubtedly has many advantages. Still, if you want to reverse the process and turn an old print into digital format, Google’s PhotoScan now makes it easier than ever.

The app now makes it possible to make the photos glare-free without taking multiple images. You can take a snap of a print, and the app will remove the glare from the single photo, in one tap.

When you photograph glossy prints, those covered by glass, or by plastic from the photo album, you’ll inevitably end up with some glare. PhotoScan previously required users to take five photos from different angles, and the app would merge them into a single, glare-free image. This process only worked on flat images, though, so Google corrected the warping with optical flow – a computer graphics representation for motion. Still, you needed to snap multiple photos to get one without glare.

The latest update allows you to turn an old print from paper to digital using only one photo and your smart device. The smart algorithm does the rest, removing the glare and calculating the colors and other parameters. Therefore, all you need now is take one shot, and post some of the old memories to social networks or store them digitally wherever you like.

I really wanted to run a few test shots for you, but my ancient phone doesn’t seem to support the latest update. But if you’d like to share your old memories digitally (and have a newer phone and a tablet than I do), you can check out the app on Google Play Store and iTunes.

[via Wired; photo credits: Google Blog]