Language barriers do still exist, however. Anyone that has been to the Far East, take China as an example, will know that there is still a huge language barrier, on the streets at least. While Google Translate can be a quick ad hoc way of communicating a short statement, any kind of conversation is normally lost and replaced with awkward smiles, confused stares and slower more pronunciated speech. Communication is lost in translation.
The Challenge
The challenge this month is to therefore come up with a way of instantly translating from one language to another, essentially giving everyone the luxury of having a translator accompanying you abroad, whispering away in your ear.
Any device should be small and mobile, and be able to almost instantly translate spoken conversation between a number of languages. To avoid any issues of latency these units should be stand alone and not rely on a wifi or Bluetooth connection to function.
Let’s also assume that the other person will have a similar device, so it does not need to translate your speech. What’s more, the software should also have the ability to learn new words and dialects.
The solution to last month’s challenge to come up with a handsfree portable device that can instantly translate conversations comes from Australian start up company Lingmo. The company has produced an AI-powered earpiece that translates between English, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, Portuguese, German, and Chinese.
The earpiece is powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) that uses the Translate One2One using IBM Watson’s natural understanding technology to translates spoken words, context and conversations in a near instant. The earpiece is available on lone to buy for $179.
