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DARPA Project Babylon: Universal Translator

Posted by michael on from the unleash-the-kitty dept.

silance writes "Take a look at this project from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)! This time the boys are trying to hammer out a portable, two-way, real-time, multi-lingual audible speech translator proposed to be run on everything from PDA's to wearable military hardware to workstations (to replace their PRE-EXISTING ONE-WAY real-time hand-held audible translators, of course!). The site contains descriptions of technical approaches, a technical milestones timeline, and a nifty Power Point presentation for the executive-types ;) They should give William Shatner a beta model out of pure respect... Here's a link to Google's cached HTML version of the Power Point presentation just in case. (P.S. - get a load of that logo at the bottom of the page!)"

13 of 324 comments (clear)

  1. mmm...... by El_Nofx · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wonder if it will do Klingon to Romulan
    or maybe haXor to newbie

    --
    It's not the OS it's the user that sucks. If it's user friendly, you get stupider people. - clinko
    1. Re:mmm...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      THIS IS NEWBI ESPEAK!!! ALL CAPS, BAD SPEELIN, AS MANY ACRNYMS AS POSSIBLE (LIKE "C U L8R PPL!!!'), AND LOTS OF PUNCTUATION (UNLESS ITS COMMAS OF APOSTROFEES... THOSE ARE STUPID)!!!!!!

      Defeating the lameness filter, only to be modded into oblivion five seconds after I hit "Submit".

  2. Obligatory B5 reference by Eimi+Metamorphoumai · · Score: 4, Funny
    The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace.

    Well, someone had to say it.

    --

    Visit me on #weirdness on the Galaxynet.

    1. Re:Obligatory B5 reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You forget that the follow-on to the Babylon Project being "the last best hope for peace" was,

      "It failed...it became something greater - our last best hope for victory."

      Which, I suppose, is what the DARPA boys REALLY want...

  3. Re:DARPA Project Babylon by rmohr02 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Here's a link to Google's cached HTML version of the Power Point presentation just in case.
    Darn--I could've done some decent karmawhoring giving out that information.
  4. The USMC model by r_j_prahad · · Score: 3, Funny

    So... now every USMC ground-pounder will be able to say "die, motherfucker, die" in 32 different languages?

    Awesome.

  5. Re:Feedback loop? by cscx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Naw, that never works. Here's an example:

    English: Help, I caught my penis in a blender.

    English -> German: Helfen Sie, ich sich verfing meinen Penis in einer Mischmaschine.
    German -> English: Help, I got caught my Penis in a mixing machine.

    English -> Spanish: Ayude, yo cogió mi pene en un mezclador.
    Spanish -> English: I help, took my penis in a mixer.

    English -> Italian: Aiuti, io ha interferito il mio penis in un miscelatore.
    Italian -> English: Aids, I have interfered with mine penis in a mixer.

    English -> Portugese: Ajude, mim travou meu penis em um blender.
    Portugese -> English: It helps, me stopped my penis in blender.

    Compounding it doesn't help either:

    English -> German: Helfen Sie, ich sich verfing meinen Penis in einer Mischmaschine.
    German -> French: aidez moi verfing mes Penis dans un appareil de mélange.
    French -> Spanish: me ayúde me verfing mi Penis en un aparato de mezcla.
    Spanish -> English: me ayúde me verfing my Penis in a mixture apparatus.

  6. Re:Strikes me as fishy (pun unintended) by cpeterso · · Score: 4, Funny


    The task goal is to produce ten working two-way prototypes from each of four teams by the end of 18-months. The languages that will be translated are Farsi, Dari, Arabic, Pashto, Mandarin, and Uzbeki.


    DARPA might as well say:

    The task goal is to produce a working two-way prototype from each of four teams by the end of 18-months. The languages that will be translated are English and Godless Terrorist.

    --
    cpeterso
  7. Will it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Will it translate between geek and newbie?

  8. Re:pattern recognition? by Phanatic1a · · Score: 5, Funny

    Instead of using the term 'kicks ass' (which will translate as abusing a donkey...), use the term 'defeat'."

    Which will translate as "I am going to chop off both of your feet."

  9. Re:Strikes me as fishy (pun unintended) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Funny, I thought the problem with these terrorists was they had an unhealthy amount of God. A perverted and evil interperetation of God, but nobody's accusing them of being atheists.

  10. Re:Concerns... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I once read (I forget where) that computers keep getting faster, and today's machines are more capable than what you could get a few years ago. I'll try to dig up the reference...

  11. It's the end of the world as we know it by Darth_brooks · · Score: 5, Funny

    Doesn't anyone remember the addendum to the babelfish?


    ''Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloddier wars than anything else in the history of creation.''

    we're doomed. I'm taking names for a bus to mars.

    --
    There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.