Jakarta Globe, Glen Chapman, Jan 14, 2015
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| An updated Google Translate application, seen Jan. 12, 2015 in San Francisco, enables smartphones to translate signs, menus and more into English. (AFP Photo/ Glenn Chapman) |
San
Francisco. Google on Wednesday began turning smartphones into real-time
language translators — of both written and spoken content.
The
California-based Internet titan is hoping that, along with making it easier for
people to understand one another on their travels, Google Translate will serve
as a useful tool for teachers, medical personnel, police and others with
important roles in increasingly multilingual communities.
The company
began rolling out a new version of a free Google Translate application that, in
part, lets people point Android or Apple smartphones at signs, menus, recipes
or other material written in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, or
Spanish and see it in English.
“We’re
letting you instantly translate text using your camera, so it’s way easier to
navigate street signs in the Italian countryside or decide what to order off a
Barcelona menu,” the Google Translate team said in a blog post.
The feature
builds on Word Lens technology that Google acquired last year when it bought
Quest Visual, a startup founded by former video game developer Otavio Good.
Word Lens
uses video mode in smartphone cameras to scan scenes, identify writing and then
display it as if it were written in English, a demonstration by Good revealed.
“If you are
looking at a restaurant menu, it’s nice to see which thing on the menu you are
looking at so you can point at it when you order,” Good said as he used his
iPhone to scan and translate an Italian pasta recipe.
Word Lens
in Google Translate operates independent of the Internet, avoiding data charges
from telecommunication service providers, he explained.
The new
Google Translate also features a conversation mode that uses voice recognition
and the power of the Internet cloud to translate both sides of a chat between
people speaking different languages, the demonstration showed.
People pair
any two of 38 language options, then smartphones listen in and convert them
during chats. An automated voice speaks translations, which are displayed in
writing on smartphone screens, while transcripts of chats can be saved.
Computing
power for translating conversations comes from Google servers, so connections
to the Internet through WiFi or telecom carriers are needed.
The team at
Google is working to expand available languages and capabilities, according to
Good.
Agence France-Presse
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