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Point, Shoot and Translate into English

Posted by timothy on from the from-the-hip dept.

edstromp points out this New York Times "story on using a pocket pc to translate a street sign. It requires at least a dialup connection as it sends the photo to a server for the majority of the processing: OCR, translation, English overlay for new image, and then transmission back to the user. All said and done, it takes about 15 seconds to translate a street sign. Put this with some augumented reality, and you have a rather useful tool."

3 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Why Translate Street Signs? by cporter · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I don't see this as a positive development. It's an excuse for crappier signs in a world where signs, schedules, maps, and notices are confusing even if you're fluent in the language. We should focus on standards and intuitive design.

    OK, maybe translating train schedules and restaurant menus is good. But street signs, especially, are supposed to be unambiguous, their meaning readily apparent to anyone, whether literate in their native language or not.

    And does this thing work on signs that some redneck has shot holes in with a 12-gauge?

  2. Improvement idea by Timid_Monkey · · Score: 2, Insightful
    With the processor speeds and storage abilities of current Pocket PCs, why require a dialup connection? Especially when the majority of users wouldn't have one while, say, traveling in a foreign country. (GSM still has yet to pick up here in the US).


    Why not allow the OCR program, and any necessary foreign language translation dictionaries to live in the PDA's memory? I can't see it taking up anymore than several MB, (which could certaintly be offloaded when not traveling).


    Is there something I really don't understand here?

  3. Re:Lazy lazy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I agree with you when you're in Europe, but it's a different story in places like Taiwan, where I'm working at the moment. There are some signs in Latin text, but some of the minor roads are only written in Chinese.
    When someone tells you to go to Chong-Shen North Road, how would you know that äå±±åOE--è is the correct address? I would love a gadget like this! It would make living here so much easier.
    It would make learning Chinese easier as well.

    (Apologies if the Chinese doesn't display properly).

    Col the Limey