Australian technology start-up Lingmo International has launched Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson that it says can efficiently translate spoken conversations within seconds.
Unveiled at last week’s United Nations Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Good Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, the Translate One2One earpiece supports translations across English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Chinese. Lingmo also says it’s the first independent translation device that doesn’t rely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity.
“By eliminating the friction of the traditional translation process, devices like Translate One2One will not only remove one of the biggest challenges for professionals when meeting and collaborating between cultures, but also offers enormous potential for communities around the world,” said Danny May, Lingmo’s Founder and Director. “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.”
According to IBM, its Watson natural language understanding and language translator APIs overcome many of the contextual challenges associated with common languages, as well as understanding the nuances of local slang and dialects. For example, in Spanish ‘LL’ could be pronounced “y”, “j” or “sh”, depending on the dialect.
In addition to the translation earpiece, which works when each user is wearing the earpiece, customers can download an app version, which also includes a currency converter.
Available to purchase now for delivery in July, the earpiece carries a price tag of $179.
According to media reports, businesses lose upwards of $2 billion in the United States and £48 billion in the United Kingdom each year due to language barriers, said IBM.
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