TranTalk (image via Raytheon)
As many celebrate the ability to talk to and be understood by the new iPhone 4S, including myself, we still cannot overcome the language barrier with other human beings. The company Raytheon is focused on breaking down that wall.
TransTalk is Ratheon's translation app for Android phones, designed to let English-only speaking soldiers converse with other non-English-speaking people. The system works as follows: one side talks into the phone, the other side plays back the words in their language, and vice-versa. Only two buttons on the screen in the app makes for an intuitive interface. The app can already handle 30,000 in Afghanistan's majority language and 80,000 Iraqi Arabic.
The rumor is, TransTalk is an offshoot of a DARPA funded translator program being conducted over the past decade. The main system, supposedly, can translate foreign slang, filter out background noise, scan foreign documents, all in real time. However, for the average soldier, TransTalk will be the most advanced system they will use in the field.
The system is just an Android app for use on any Android based device. It will never be available for general use, unfortunately. In the picture above, TransTalk is running on an unmodified Motorola Atrix. To use the app and Android devices, more security is needed. I am sure they do not want the enemy flipping through the contact list.
Although this is a great achievement, I cannot use it. Instead, I want to see more on the real-time audio language translation that Japan's Docomo showcased recently.
Eavesdropper
