Have you ever wanted to learn something from a video, but couldn’t because it was in another language? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone.

That’s why we are introducing Aloud, a new product from Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator for experimental projects. Using Aloud, creators can quickly and easily dub their videos into multiple languages, unlocking knowledge that might be trapped in a single language today. We support dubbing into Spanish and Portuguese, with Hindi, Bahasa-Indonesian and other languages coming soon. We hope this makes dubbing more accessible to creators who previously considered it too difficult or too costly. And you can request early access starting today.

The language barrier

We grew up in Sri Lanka at a time before computing was mainstream, but had the opportunity to learn English at a young age. The ability to read and learn about new technologies in books only available in English opened our world and helped us develop a passion for technology. But English proficiency wasn't commonplace, and many of our friends had a much harder time. The language barrier was real for them, and the playing field was not level.

The methods of learning have changed since then, and research shows that 46% of global viewers use video to learn something new. But much of today’s video content is still being produced in English, and more than 80% of the world does not speak the language. For them, English videos are not accessible, and the playing field is still not level.

Subtitles can help bridge the language gap, but they’re not always ideal on mobile devices due to the small form factor, the necessity of constant attention to the screen, and accessibility challenges for those with visual or reading impairments. Dubbing, the process of adding a translated voice track, overcomes those limitations, but is time-consuming and cost-prohibitive for most creators.

With Aloud, dubbing can be as easy as typing in the language you speak

Dubbing used to take weeks worth of effort and a large budget. But with Aloud, you only need a few minutes. We use advances in audio separation, machine translation and speech synthesis to reduce time-consuming and costly steps like translation, video editing and audio production. You do not even need to know any language other than the ones you already speak, and all of this is available at no cost to the creator.

To dub with Aloud, all you need to do is provide the video and subtitles in the original language. If subtitles are not available, you can also quickly review the text transcript that we generate. With those inputs, Aloud can produce informative dubs like the one below:

The above video is a Hindi dub made with Aloud that debuted at Google IO (original). Here is one dubbed into Spanish (original), and another into Portuguese (original).

Access a global audience, while staying in control

With dubbing, you can now reach previously unreachable portions of the world’s population. In our experiments, we have seen double-digit growth in views just by dubbing into one additional language.

We know you as a creator take pride in the content that you create, so we want to ensure that you remain in control. You decide which videos to dub, how to publish them, how much effort to put in and bring in language experts if you so choose. Aloud doesn’t create new content — it only uses the original speech and translates it into a different language of your choice. We're also working with YouTube to let creators add multiple audio tracks to their videos, a new feature that they started testing with a small group of creators late last year.

Viewers have transparency

Our goal is to open up previously inaccessible information to the world. At the same time, we’re vigilant about how the technology is used, and we want to make sure that synthetically dubbed content is never confused with the original, or with content that is dubbed by voice actors. So to ensure transparency, we require from our creators that all dubs produced by Aloud state clearly (in the video description, as a pinned comment or in the post credits screen) that they are synthetic dubs with a reference to the original.

Request early access today

We are starting this process with a focus on informational content, as we think it will help the most people. As we learn and improve on our tech, we plan to expand to other types of content as well.

Let's overcome the language barrier together – request early access at aloud.area120.google.com.

Have you ever lost a receipt you needed for a refund? Or misplaced an important tax document? Or forgot a bill and incurred a fine? I’ve done all three. (More than once!) 

As we go through life, we come across many documents that we might need in the future. Organizing these documents takes time and effort. So, if you’re anything like me, you might end up with piles of papers lying around your house (or PDFs scattered across your computer desktop). And good luck finding them when you actually need them. 

Effortlessly categorize your documents.

Take a photo of a document and Stack will scan it, automatically name it for you, and suggest the right category — or “stack,” as we call them — for you to store it in. 

Find things faster.

Stack will identify important information in your documents (such as “due date” or “total amount due”) and pull it out to make it easier to find and access. You can also search through the full text of your documents (not just the title) to quickly find what you need.

Never lose a document.

Stack uses Google's advanced security and sign-in technology to protect your documents. For extra protection on your phone, you can require a scan of your face or fingerprint every time you unlock the app. 

Stack can also automatically save a copy of your documents to Google Drive. That way, should you ever decide to stop using Stack, your documents will be accessible in Drive and easy to export. 

We know how stressful staying on top of your paperwork can be. So far, Stack has made us feel more organized and prepared for whatever life throws at us. We're excited about its potential to help you, too.

I’ve been in the technology industry for a long time, including 10 years at Google. And during my years in the workforce, I’ve always had a difficult time tracking projects. Our teams stored notes and related tasks in different documents. Those documents always got out of date. We’d have to manually sync data between them. And I’d spend a lot of time coordinating between team members to prioritize and update statuses. I spent more time keeping track of work than actually working! 

Tracking work with existing tech solutions meant building a custom in-house solution or purchasing an off-the-shelf product, but these options are time-consuming, inflexible and expensive.

That's why we built Tables, a user-friendly, intuitive work tracking tool, as part of Area 120, Google's in-house incubator for experimental projects. Tables helps teams track work and automate tasks to save time and supercharge collaboration—without any coding required.

Save time, work smarter

Tables, with other teams at Google, is investing in automation. For Tables, this means Bots. With Bots, teams can easily schedule recurring email reminders when tasks are overdue, message a chat room when new form submissions are received, or move a task to someone else’s work queue when the status is changed.

Prior to Tables, you'd have to do a lot of manual work: check multiple different sources of data, collate it all together and then copy and paste it into another doc to hand it off. Tables makes automating these actions quick and easy, saving teams time and making collaboration seamless.

Integrated with Google

Getting started with Tables is easy. You can import data right from Google Sheets, share data with your Google Groups and assign tasks to your existing Google contacts. 

It’s time to spend more time working and less time tracking it. That’s why today, we launched the beta version of Tables in the U.S.—with both a free and paid plan. Now you can work more efficiently and collaborate easily, no matter the task. Get started today or visit our website to learn more. 

In 2018, while working on a project at Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator for experimental projects, my colleague Sha Sajadieh and I went to VidCon, a major convention for the online video industry. The energy was absolutely incredible. Fans rushed across the convention floor to meet their favorite creators, and waited in massive queues for a selfie.

It reminded us that the YouTube community is amazing—the connections between creators and their audiences goes far deeper than just videos and comment threads. But we also thought: How can we create these magic moments for even more people, at any time, no matter where they are?  

This sparked an idea for a new Area 120 project: Fundo, a platform for virtual events and experiences, designed and built for creators. With Fundo, everything is live and interactive, using face-to-face video chat to mirror those in-person encounters. And it all happens using your computer or phone, from the comfort of home or on the go. 

Fundo also gives creators new monetization options to support what they do. Event hosts are in control of ticket prices and any discounts, including free events if preferred. Some creators using YouTube Channel Memberships offer Fundo Meet & Greets exclusively to channel members as a premium perk.

Over the past year, many parts of life had to move online and become virtual. While we didn’t build Fundo specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission of creating meaningful experiences online is even more important today. In addition to YouTube creators and their fans, we're seeing authors, fitness instructors, business and lifestyle consultants and others use Fundo to find new ways to connect.

We’ve been testing with early adopters, and today we are launching Fundo for all creators in the U.S. and Canada, with more locations coming soon.

One end-to-end platform

Virtual events, especially ticketed experiences, can be complicated. From scheduling to sign-ups, payment processing, communication and live streaming, there’s a lot to manage. Fundo makes it easy by providing a single end-to-end solution. Event hosts and their guests can do everything within the Fundo website, with no apps or additional software downloads required.

Fans can discover events happening on Fundo through our home page, or through links shared directly by their favorite creators. You choose an event, answer a few questions, complete the ticket purchase and you’re all set. Fundo will provide the event link and send reminders up until the start time, as well as technical support if needed. 

Safety is a top priority. Because Fundo is checking everyone’s ticket, there’s no risk of uninvited guests. We also have reporting and flagging features to curtail abuse.

Customized experiences

No two creators are the same, and no two audiences are the same. That’s why Fundo offers different types of experiences that can be adapted and customized. Creators can schedule an event in advance, or let fans request a time. They can meet one-on-one or in groups. They can invite co-hosts or take the stage solo.

As a fan, you’ll have a variety of experiences to choose from. Join the Q&A with Kreekcraft’s channel members in a group Meet & Greet:

Take selfies together using our Photo Booth, with Las 2 Muñecas:

Or join a virtual workshop, like The East Family’s home mixology seminar:

Check out our calendar of all featured events, available now at fundo.town. If you are interested in using Fundo as a creator to host events, you can sign up now at fundo.town/creators. 

When I visit a grocery store or a doctors’ office, I sometimes have weak cellular coverage. I know there might be a public Wi-Fi network that could help, but it’s a pain to figure out which networks are high-quality and available to me. And then it’s another often-frustrating process to get connected.

What if my cellular carrier could give me the best of both worlds?

Orion Wifi helps solve this problem. Orion Wifi is a new platform from Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator for experimental projects. We’ve designed an easy way for public venues—like that grocery store, a medical office or a mall—to sell Wi-Fi capacity to cellular carriers.

With Orion Wifi, when you walk into that grocery store, your carrier can automatically and securely connect you to the Wi-Fi.

Although you don’t lift a finger, there’s a lot happening in the background. As you walk into the grocery store, Orion Wifi helps the local network tell the carrier about its price and quality. If the carrier decides the connection is good enough, we’ll auto-connect you. If the quality is too low, we won’t. When you are connected, Internet traffic flows over the Wi-Fi network just as if you had connected directly to the Wi-Fi; Orion cannot access users’ Internet traffic. 

That means more connectivity in more places—seamlessly and automatically.  

Public venues: more revenue, happier visitors

What’s in it for the grocery store? Poor connectivity is a problem for them, too. Disconnected visitors are unhappy visitors. So places like downtown districts, office buildings, stores, malls, restaurants, transit hubs and hospitals invest heavily in high-quality networks so that you can make a video call, send a picture and check your email.  

Orion Wifi uses those existing networks to connect more visitors, and to provide a new revenue stream to the venue owner. 

Orion Wifi works with most commercial and enterprise Wi-Fi systems, usually with no new hardware or software. Orion Wifi helps improve connectivity even for venues that have already deployed Distributed Antenna Systems or Small Cells to improve coverage. But unlike those systems, Orion Wifi is incredibly quick and easy to turn on.  

Partnering across cellular, Wi-Fi and real estate

We’re working with industry leaders across the telecommunications industry to make this happen.  

Google Fi and Republic Wireless will be among the first cellular carriers to use this new technology. We’re partnering with leading Wi-Fi manufacturers like Cisco Systems, CommScope (RUCKUS) and Juniper Mist to ensure that Orion Wifi is compatible and easy to deploy with their networking equipment. And we’re working with the Wireless Broadband Alliance on the emerging OpenRoaming standard to make Wi-Fi roaming even more powerful. 

To ensure ubiquitous access, we’re also partnering with experts in Wi-Fi and real estate to deploy Orion Wifi widely. Boingo, the leading carrier-grade Wi-Fi provider, is using Orion Wifi to expand its connectivity offering to travelers and visitors across their U.S. footprint. And we’re working with leaders in commercial real estate like 5G LLC, GigaMonster, CA Ventures and Single Digits to enable Orion Wifi at premium venues across the United States. 

Easy, quick and free

Starting today, Orion Wifi is available to United States-based public venues. We’ve made the sign-up process easy. There’s no cost to sign up, and no commitments or obligations. If you operate venues with high-quality commercial Wi-Fi networks, visit orion.area120.com, where you can use our self-service portal to try it out for yourself.  

When I visit a grocery store or a doctors’ office, I sometimes have weak cellular coverage. I know there might be a public Wi-Fi network that could help, but it’s a pain to figure out which networks are high-quality and available to me. And then it’s another often-frustrating process to get connected.

What if my cellular carrier could give me the best of both worlds?

Orion Wifi helps solve this problem. Orion Wifi is a new platform from Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator for experimental projects. We’ve designed an easy way for public venues—like that grocery store, a medical office or a mall—to sell Wi-Fi capacity to cellular carriers.

With Orion Wifi, when you walk into that grocery store, your carrier can automatically and securely connect you to the Wi-Fi.

Although you don’t lift a finger, there’s a lot happening in the background. As you walk into the grocery store, Orion Wifi helps the local network tell the carrier about its price and quality. If the carrier decides the connection is good enough, we’ll auto-connect you. If the quality is too low, we won’t. When you are connected, Internet traffic flows over the Wi-Fi network just as if you had connected directly to the Wi-Fi; Orion cannot access users’ Internet traffic. 

That means more connectivity in more places—seamlessly and automatically.  

Public venues: more revenue, happier visitors

What’s in it for the grocery store? Poor connectivity is a problem for them, too. Disconnected visitors are unhappy visitors. So places like downtown districts, office buildings, stores, malls, restaurants, transit hubs and hospitals invest heavily in high-quality networks so that you can make a video call, send a picture and check your email.  

Orion Wifi uses those existing networks to connect more visitors, and to provide a new revenue stream to the venue owner. 

Orion Wifi works with most commercial and enterprise Wi-Fi systems, usually with no new hardware or software. Orion Wifi helps improve connectivity even for venues that have already deployed Distributed Antenna Systems or Small Cells to improve coverage. But unlike those systems, Orion Wifi is incredibly quick and easy to turn on.  

Partnering across cellular, Wi-Fi and real estate

We’re working with industry leaders across the telecommunications industry to make this happen.  

Google Fi and Republic Wireless will be among the first cellular carriers to use this new technology. We’re partnering with leading Wi-Fi manufacturers like Cisco Systems, CommScope (RUCKUS) and Juniper Mist to ensure that Orion Wifi is compatible and easy to deploy with their networking equipment. And we’re working with the Wireless Broadband Alliance on the emerging OpenRoaming standard to make Wi-Fi roaming even more powerful. 

To ensure ubiquitous access, we’re also partnering with experts in Wi-Fi and real estate to deploy Orion Wifi widely. Boingo, the leading carrier-grade Wi-Fi provider, is using Orion Wifi to expand its connectivity offering to travelers and visitors across their U.S. footprint. And we’re working with leaders in commercial real estate like 5G LLC, GigaMonster, CA Ventures and Single Digits to enable Orion Wifi at premium venues across the United States. 

Easy, quick and free

Starting today, Orion Wifi is available to United States-based public venues. We’ve made the sign-up process easy. There’s no cost to sign up, and no commitments or obligations. If you operate venues with high-quality commercial Wi-Fi networks, visit orion.area120.com, where you can use our self-service portal to try it out for yourself.