WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Phraselator

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Phraselator: "Phraselator

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You've seen text-based pocket translators. You may have even seen speech-to-speech pocket translators. But what if you're somewhere the popular European / North-Asian languages aren't spoken, and saying things other than 'where's the museum'? What if, for instance, you're doing tsunami-relief in Sri Lanka? Or helping Somalian refugees?



Phraselator is what you need, then. Like other speech-to-speech translators,the user can either speak a phrase in English or select it from various conceptually-grouped lists, and the PDA-size device will then speak the equivalent phrase in the selected language. Available languages and phrases are stored on compact flash cards, which can be swapped out for different ones tailored for various situations. The device was originally developed for military field hospitals where doctors also care for wounded locals, but it has since been expanded with modules like 'basic aircrew', 'basic Somali survival', 'disaster relief', and 'basic military interview' (i.e. interrogation), 'traffic law enforcement', and many others. Better yet, they can also provide you the tools to make your own translation modules. The device is also a good deal more rugged than the sort of thing you'd take vacationing in France.



Though the Phraselators you can buy now only offer one-way translation, a two-way translator is already being prototyped and field-tested. Military.com has a good article on the device, and how it has been used by American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. It looks like the product's development is headed more towards military and law-eforcement action rather than civilian relief action, but time will tell.

Posted by Jeremy Faludi at May 3, 2005 03:04 PM | TrackBack "