Talking to strangers in foreign countries just got a lot easier with recent advancements in translation technology. Last week, major companies and small startups alike showed the CES technology expo in Las Vegas how well their translation worked at live translation.
Most existing translation apps, like Bixby and Siri Translate, are still in their infancy with live speech translation, which brings about the need for dedicated solutions like these technologies:
Babel’s AIcorrect pocket translator
The AIcorrect Translator, developed by Beijing-based Babel Technology, attracted attention as the linguistic king of the show. As an advanced application of AI technology in consumer technology, the pocket translator deals with problems in cross-linguistic communication.
It supports real-time mutual translation in multiple situations between Chinese/English and 30 other languages, including Japanese, Korean, Thai, French, Russian and Spanish. A significant differentiator is that major languages like English being further divided into accents. The translation quality reaches as high as 96%.
It has a touch screen, where transcription and audio translation are shown at the same time. Lei Guan, CEO of Babel Technology, said: “As a Chinese pathfinder in the field of AI, we designed the device in hoping that hundreds of millions of people can have access to it and carry out cross-linguistic communication all barrier-free.”
Click here to read about the Pilot, Travis, Pocketalk, Google and Zoi translators.
Waverly Labs’ Pilot Smart Earbuds
Pilot Smart Earbuds uses advanced speech recognition, machine translation and hearable technology to allow users to converse with people who speak other languages.
It can also act as wireless earphones, so it supports wireless music streaming, connected phone calls, and includes a portable charger.
The earphones use noise-cancelling microphones to filter out ambient noise from the speech. That speech is then passed through the Pilot app and to a cloud service, where layers of neural-based speech recognition, machine translation, and speech synthesis engines translate the language. At the end of the funnel, says Waverly Labs, the translated language is sent to the user with minimal lag.
The device works in two modes:
Listen Mode: It interprets someone speaking within close proximity by “listening” for speech nearby and will translate their words into the selected language. The translation is spoken as well as displayed as text on the app.
Converse Mode: For a more conversational approach with someone who speaks a different language, the secondary earbud can be shared with the other person to facilitate a two-way translation.
Click here to read about the Travis, Pocketalk, Google and Zoi translators.
Travis Touch Plus
According to Travis, only 1 in 5 Americans speak a second language and the language learning gap in the United States is only getting worse. Many Americans don’t realize that 75 percent of people outside of the U.S. do not speak English, and if they do, it’s not at a very high level of proficiency.
A Dutch-based startup, Travis aims to close the loop on the language learning gap with its newly launched device, Travis Touch Plus. The device translates and teaches over 100 languages with the click of a button.
The pocket translator uses AI and machine learning, incorporating voice commands, wireless charging, and cutting-edge language learning software. It has built on the company’s expertise in language technology to help users not only translate languages but learn them as well. Users are now able to converse solely with Travis to learn languages separate from their native tongue.
“Travis Teacher sets us apart and shows that we are doing more than just translating a language, we are breaking language barriers,” said Lennart Van der Ziel, CEO of Travis. “If we are able to help someone learn a language through our device, we have more than exceeded our goal to make bilingual conversation a frictionless experience.”
Said Marty Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, “Americans have a mindset that, as a country, we’re not good at languages, that they’re tough, they’re challenging, that maybe only academically gifted students can do it. And that’s a false idea.”
With a multi-continent team that has a mission to bridge language barriers for a better world and give everyone the power to communicate, Travis claims to make it possible for anyone to be multilingual.
The device has a 12-hour battery life and should last for a week if it is used for around an hour per day. It can live-translate 20 languages without Wi-Fi and 80 languages if it’s connected to the Internet.
Click here to read about the Pocketalk, Google and Zoi translators.
Pocketalk
An alternative to Travis, Pocketalk also makes use of AI for instant voice translation for 74 languages. The near-instant translation technology makes it easy to understand others and be understood. For connectivity to its cloud service, it uses Wi-Fi, mobile data, or a personal hotspot.
One up on Travis, the Pocketalk device comes with a global SIM and two years of mobile data included, to ensure that translations almost always reach their translation service.
Click here to read about the Google Interpreter Mode and Zoi translators.
Google Interpreter Mode
Pushing Android to another level, Google showcased a new “Interpreter Mode” for its Assistant at CES.
The feature can translate a conversation between two people in real-time, like an interpreter.
To initiate a translation with a Spanish speaker, a user should say, “OK Google, be my Chinese interpreter.” The Assistant then translates English it detects into Chinese and vice versa, speaking translations and displaying them on screen. It works with 27 languages.
Click here to read about the Zoi translator.
Zoi Translate: Subtitles in business
While this translator doesn’t speak, it writes out live subtitles from speech, which has applications in live streaming and video conferencing.
“It works in six languages”, says Kevin Oranje, founder of Zoi. “We have chosen these first languages based on demand, and there is a lot of interest from Japan and China.”
According to Zoi Meet, the software can create a written translation within 0.2 seconds, provided the Internet connection is fast and stable.
The system works with multiple translation platforms, such as Google Translate and Amazon Translate. An algorithm looks at which system provides the best translation for the relevant language in real time.
“The service will cost 19 dollars per month and will be published in March”, says Oranje. “All translations are saved for future reference and betterment of the service.”