A new earpiece translates foreign languages mid-conversation, allowing the user to automatically understand other languages while abroad.
The Translate One2One produced by Australian startup Lingmo, is powered by IBM’s Watson, and has recently been made available to the public for $179.
The earpiece reportedly takes three to five seconds to record, translate, and play back the translation to the user and doesn’t rely on an internet connection.
“As the first device on the market for language translation using AI that does not rely on connectivity to operate, it offers significant potential for its unique application across airlines, foreign government relations and even not-for-profits working in remote areas,” claimed Danny May, founder of Lingmo, who created the Translate One2One.
“It currently works across English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Chinese,” according to the Independent, it is currently held back by the restriction that “both people in a conversation need to be wearing one.”
“As the system learns, it should get better at translation over time — current field tests say the device is accurate about 85% of the time,” explained TechRadar. “The team behind the device says it’s particularly good at recognizing context, so it knows when you want ‘cool’ to mean something good rather than something cold. They’re hoping the headset is going to be a hit with business travelers.”
Although the Translate One2One is not in the same league as the Star Trek communicator or the Babel fish from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it appears to be a solid step towards near-instantaneous translation.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.