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Gadget Claims To Fit In Your Ear and Translate Foreign Languages In Real-Time (telegraph.co.uk)

An anonymous reader cites a report on the Telegraph about a tiny gadget that lets two people who speak a different language understand each other. The gadget dubbed Pilot translates English, French, Spanish and Italian. Pilot, which is yet to be launched, is priced at $129. From the report: It works by being connected to two different people, speaking two different languages, and translates what they are saying in your ear. Pilot is supposedly the first 'smart earpiece' capable of translating between two languages. Waverly Labs, who have developed the technology, said on their website: "This little wearable uses translation technology to allow two people to speak different languages but still clearly understand each other." They have not said how it works except for that it uses "translation technology" embedded in an app. We have reached out to them to find out more.

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  1. An example of conversation... by Pollux · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So, I took a basic dialog and ran it through Google Translator, converting it from English to German, then taking the German and converting it back to English. Here's what I got...

    Original Conversation:

    Person A: Look at this amazing gadget! It allows me to hear what you're saying in German in English! Here's a spare. Put it in your ear, and you can hear my English and translate it to German!

    Person B: Great! Now our different languages won't stop us from understanding each other!

    A: Just imagine, with this, we can break down language barriers that interfere with developing a mutual understanding of one another. This might be the answer to world peace!

    B: I'm not so sure about that. Good luck getting this thing to turn what Donald Trump has to say into something peaceful.

    And now, once translated and re-translated, we get...

    Person A: Check out this amazing gadget! It allows me to listen to what you say in German in English there! Here is a replacement. Put it in your ear, and you can listen to my English and German dictionary!

    Person B: Big! Now our different languages will not deter us to understand each other!

    A: Imagine, with this we can break language barriers that interfere with the development of a mutual understanding of each other. This could be the answer to world peace!

    B: I'm not so sure. Good luck always to turn this thing what Donald Trump has to say in a little quieter.

    -----

    Somehow, me thinks we still have a long ways to go. Though, I can say that this is a whole lot better than what Google was producing 15 years ago.