Fortunately, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies have completely transformed that outdated process and no longer need to transcribe the original speech to produce an accurate voice translation.Ĭontemporary real-time translation tools use NLP to translate human speech much more quickly and accurately than ever before. From there, they used conventional text translation to convert the original speech into the target language. Older versions of translation technology relied on transcribing speech into text. Example: Google’s Pixel earbuds have in-ear real-time translation. Instant translation between dozens of human languages has the potential to change the way we communicate with people around the world. With the latest neural machine translation (NMT) platforms, two people can have a conversation in different languages with minimal delays or issues with accuracy. Real-time translation is the technology that can help you translate one language to another instantly. Instantly translating speech into your language from any other language is now entirely possible. This sci-fi dream is a reality thanks to smartphones and wearable tech like Google Pixel Earbuds. In 1979, Douglas Adams wrote about the Babel fish-a fish that whispered real-time translations into the ears of its wearers-in his famous sci-fi book, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Only a few decades ago, this technology was the stuff of science fiction. Instant translation through conversational AI has removed language barriers for people around the world. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a major role in translating content to different languages. Now that everybody has smartphones, it’s like carrying a mobile interpreter in our pockets. To learn how you can use Microsoft Translator for Education, visit our Education page.Language translation technology has come a long way since the early days of the internet. To learn all the ways that Microsoft Translator is used in RIT’s academic setting, visit NTID’s Translator app page and the Automatic Speech Recognition project page. We were able to feed key words into the classroom models.” – Brian Trager, Associate Director, RIT’s National Technical institute for the Deaf For example, the terminology that you would see in a biology class. “The custom speech recognition is critical for capturing vocabulary words that wouldn’t be necessarily conventional in everyday life. Speech customization using Azure’s Custom Speech Service is a huge part of the project – giving teachers access to custom speech models that recognize specific terminology, such as scientific terms and place names. Microsoft Translator has partnered with RIT’s Center for Access Technology on the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Project – the transcription of spoken language to readable text using AI-based technology. Because communication is very important for all of us and we just want to be together, and not feel left out.” – Amanda Bui, Mobile Applications Development major, National Technical Institute for the Deaf In the future, I can also use it for my job. “Once I knew about Microsoft Translator, I realized I can use that back at home, during family dinners, and then I also can use it for study groups with my friends. To illustrate how the app can be used on campus, RIT created a few videos of scenarios where the Microsoft Translator app can be of benefit to the student population. RIT has pioneered the use of Microsoft Translator in the classroom, and recently created a “Microsoft Translator for RIT” webpage explaining the benefits of the app as a “companion tool”.
This is exactly what’s happening on-campus at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT): Students and faculty are promoting the use of Microsoft Translator to break communication barriers on campus, in and outside of the classroom. Now, imagine you walk up to the same person, but now they have the Microsoft Translator app installed on their phone – displaying your spoken words in text, and giving him the ability to type his response. By the time he’s explained in writing where your next class is, you’re 10 minutes late. You realize that the person you’ve asked is hard-of-hearing, and he opens his backpack for a pen and paper. You’re a bit lost, so you stop to ask the next person you see for directions. Imagine you’re on a college campus and have a job interview in 5 minutes.