Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on July 15, which coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Google Arts and Culture

Fabricius: this new Google AI tool helps you decode and write in hieroglyphs


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

Google has created a new tool that can decode Egyptian hieroglyphs in English and Arabic, and launched it on the anniversary of the Rosetta Stone's discovery.

The Fabricius tool will be useful for experts who want to translate hieroglyphics more efficiently, and also  for everyday users who want to learn more about the Ancient Egyptian writing system. You can even use it to send messages to your friends in hieroglyphs.

Fabricius – developed by the Australian Centre for Egyptology at the Macquarie University in Australia, Psycle Interactive, and Ubisoft – was made available on the Google Arts and Culture app on Wednesday, July 15, which coincides with the 221st anniversary of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

The tool offers three different ways of discovering and interacting with hieroglyphs: Learn, Play, and Work. Google Arts and Culture
The tool offers three different ways of discovering and interacting with hieroglyphs: Learn, Play, and Work. Google Arts and Culture

“Fabricius began with an experimental idea: could today’s tech be used to help decode languages?” Chance Coughenour, head of preservation at Google Arts and Culture, said during an online unveiling of the app.

After two years of development, that answer is yes – but it's not quite as straightforward as your typical translation app.

“It is a step forward in the process,” Coughenour said. “Fabricius doesn’t do automatic translation, but rather it is a tool that helps experts translate the hieroglyphs more efficiently.”

This means that Fabricius won't work as quickly as say, Google Translate, which works on modern-day languages.

Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, there was no making sense of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Google Arts and Culture
Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, there was no making sense of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Google Arts and Culture

Instead, experts who use some of the tool's more sophisticated features will have to specifically sequence and process images of the hieroglyphs before the tool translates them. It's a process that can take roughly an hour, depending on the complexity of the hieroglyphs.

Before the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799, scholars were not able to read Ancient Egyptian inscriptions and literature.

The Stone – a tablet of granodiorite that was part of a larger slab – held an official decree about King Ptolemy V inscribed in three scripts: hieroglyphs, Ancient Greek and Demotic (the native Egyptian script used for everyday purposes). The inscriptions on the Stone were the first time experts had access to a translation of the hieroglyphs, and its discovery was monumental in helping unravel the mysteries of the Egyptian writing system.

Fabricius will be useful for experts who want to translate the contents of hieroglyphics more efficiently. Google Arts and Culture
Fabricius will be useful for experts who want to translate the contents of hieroglyphics more efficiently. Google Arts and Culture

And now, 221 years on, you don't need to slave over the Stone's translations to indulge your inner Egyptologist.

Fabricius, which can be accessed from the Google Arts and Culture app, offers three functions to discover and interact with hieroglyphs: Learn, Play, and Work.

If you’re an academic and looking to use the tool for work, you'll probably be most interested in the Work function, which is only available on the desktop version of the app.

The easiest way to understand hieroglyphs is to imagine that they are the ancient Egyptian equivalent of emojis. Google Arts and Culture
The easiest way to understand hieroglyphs is to imagine that they are the ancient Egyptian equivalent of emojis. Google Arts and Culture

This is where experts will be able to process images of hieroglyphs, before sequencing and identifying them.

For amateurs, the Learn feature helps you take your first step into the world of hieroglyphs. This is where you'll learn the basics of reading the ancient writing system.

But it’s most likely the Play function that most of us are going to spend our time on. This feature takes whatever sentence you type and translates it into hieroglyphs. It isn't meant to be an accurate translation, but rather a fun way of interacting with the ancient script and sending coded messages to friends.

Before long, you may find yourself using the tool to decode the hieroglyphs found in Egyptian tombs. Google Arts and Culture
Before long, you may find yourself using the tool to decode the hieroglyphs found in Egyptian tombs. Google Arts and Culture

“The easiest way to understand hieroglyphs is to imagine that they are the ancient Egyptian equivalent of emojis,” Fabricius advises. So what better way to test the Play feature than by feeding the tool some modern-day emojis? I start by uploading a grinning smiley. The tool gives me a symbol of a man in a skull cap and a triangular beard, looking more impatient than joyful.

A despondent emoji gives me a hieroglyph of a man laying on his side, a cane raised to his forehead.

I then give sentences a try and type: "I need coffee."

The tool renders a set of eight hieroglyphs, including one of a cane and another of bird with a hooked beak. But the word “coffee” is greyed out. There is no hieroglyph for it, which isn’t surprising considering that coffee was discovered at least five centuries after hieroglyphs were last used.

If you're looking for a fun, novel way to text your friends, you can kill a lot of time using Fabricius. But where the app excels is in its professional use; the Work function should make it much easier for experts to efficiently decode the ancient script. It's machine-learning feature will ensure the tool only becomes more accurate and quicker with time, saving experts hours of cross-referencing and comparing myriad scripts.

However, even the tool's playful features are designed to spark interest in the ancient script. Before long, who knows, you might find yourself trying to decode the hieroglyphs found in Egyptian tombs.

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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

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Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

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Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

Opening weekend Premier League fixtures

Weekend of August 10-13

Arsenal v Manchester City

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Fulham v Crystal Palace

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Manchester United v Leicester City

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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

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Rocketman

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

THE SPECS

Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8

Gearbox: eight-speed automatic

Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km

Price, base: from Dh571,000

On sale: this week

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• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

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• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto

Four stars

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Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
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  • Price: Not announced yet
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