translation
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Alexa can translate conversations in real-time on Echo devices
Starting today, Alexa can translate conversations between two people who speak different languages.
Facebook's new AI can translate languages directly into one another
Whether you’re logging on from the US, Brazil, Borneo, or France, Facebook can translate virtually any written content published on its platform into the local language using automated machine translation. In fact, Facebook provides around 20 billion translations everyday for its News Feed alone. This is done because data sets of translations to and from English are massive and widely available but putting English in the middle reduces the overall translation accuracy while making the entire process more complex and cumbersome than it needs to be.
AI localization tool claims to translate your words in your voice
Resemble AI's Localize tool could help YouTubers reach fans in other countries.
Twitter tests automatic translations in Brazil
That’s because Twitter has started testing automatic translations in the region “to make it easier to understand the conversations [they] follow.”
A high-tech glove can translate sign language with 99-percent accuracy
Researchers at UCLA have developed an inexpensive, high-tech glove that can translate sign language into written and spoken words on a smartphone.
Uber's app update offers message translations and makes pickups clearer
Uber is introducing a couple of new features designed to make ride pickups easier for both drivers and passengers. Firstly, the app interface has had a refresh to put more focus and transparency on ride arrival status, and secondly, a new translation tool has arrived, making it easier for riders to communicate with drivers that don't speak their language.
Google Translate adds languages for the first time in four years
Believe it or not, Google hasn't added languages to Translate since 2016 -- it's not clear why, but the company is making up for that apparent omission. It's adding five languages, including Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Odia (India), Tata, Turkmen and, notably, Uyghur. It may be difficult for Uyghurs to use this service when China both blocks Google services and has been targeting their population, but this could help outsiders understand the community
Facebook says glitch led to rude translation of Chinese leader's name
Facebook is learning first-hand about the limitations of modern translation technology. The social media firm has apologized after people discovered that that translating Chinese President Xi Jinping's name from Burmese to English led to him being called "Mr. Shithole" -- no, we're not kidding. The company blamed a "technical issue" for the flaw. It didn't have Xi Jinping's name in its Burmese database and made a wild stab at the translation, where it clearly fell apart. Other words starting with "xi" or "shi" also led to "shithole" translations.
Translation gadgets in 2020 are nearly as good as Babel Fish
Hundreds of thousands of attendees from every corner of the globe descended upon Las Vegas last week to see the latest and greatest in consumer technology trends. However, with so many people from so many places in a single space, language barriers can be an issue. Thankfully myriad companies were onsite with their own tech-based solutions to address these communication breakdowns. We were able to check out a few and see which are best placed to become the babel fish we were promised.
Google Assistant's interpreter mode is coming to iOS and Android
Early this year, Google brought its real-time translation feature, interpreter mode, to Assistant-enabled smart displays and speakers. Now, the feature is rolling out to Assistant-enabled Android and iOS phones worldwide.
Google will help you pronounce difficult words
Google wants to make it easier to learn word pronunciations. Today, it introduced a new Search feature that will let users practice saying tricky words. When you look up a pronunciation, Google will provide an answer, and when you say the word into your phone's microphone, Search will let you know if you said it correctly.
Google Maps can pronounce place names in local languages
Navigation apps can be helpful for getting around an unfamiliar country... up until you need to ask someone for directions and can't say a place name. Google thinks it can help. It's rolling out an update to Google Maps on Android and iOS that can speak place names in the local language. You can point a driver to a Japanese cultural center or a Spanish tapas bar without having to point frantically at the screen. And if you do need more than that translation to get around, there's a direct link to Google Translate if you have it installed.
Emulator uses AI to offer the translations your games never had
Many classic video games are only available in one language, making it difficult to enjoy them as a non-speaker unless you have a fan translation. Now, though, you might just need the right software. Version 1.7.8 of the RetroArch emulator front end has introduced an AI Service feature that uses machine learning to translate game text into the language of your choice. It taps into services like Google's to identify on-screen text and translate it into either an image if you don't mind interruptions, or speech if you do. You could understand games that were previously unintelligible to you.
Microsoft contractors listen to some Skype calls and Cortana commands
Microsoft is the latest company charged with listening to its users calls and voice commands. A report by Vice found that contractors are listening to bits of conversations collected through Skype's translation service. Some contractors are also listening to voice commands spoken to Cortana.
Google Translate's camera now works with more than 100 languages
Google Translate's instant camera feature will now make translating a foreign street sign as easy as aiming your phone -- even if your native language isn't English. The company today unveiled a set of new updates to its translation tool, including the ability for instant camera to translate between any of more than one hundred languages supported by Google Translate. In other words, English no longer needs to be one of the languages used. This means users can translate from Bengali to French, or from Catalan to Polish or many other combinations.
Google's Translatotron can translate speech in the speaker's voice
Speaking another language may be getting easier. Google is showing off Translatotron, a first-of-its-kind translation model that can directly convert speech from one language into another while maintaining a speaker's voice and cadence. The tool forgoes the usual step of translating speech to text and back to speech, which can often lead to errors along the way. Instead, the end-to-end technique directly translates a speaker's voice into another language. The company is hoping the development will open up future developments using the direct translation model.
eBay’s improved AI translation boosts Spanish-language sales
Since eBay added artificial intelligence translations for product listings in 2014, sales from the US to Spanish-speaking Latin American nations increased by almost 11 percent, according to a study. Researchers from MIT and Washington University in St. Louis scraped data from the ecommerce platform, and found that the translations helped buyers and sellers overcome language barriers.
Samsung imagines a wraparound smartphone display
If that whole folding smartphone thing doesn't work out, Samsung has lot of other ideas cooking. It recently received patent approval for a continuous display that covers the front, while folding around the top and part of the rear of the phone, as spotted by Let's Go Digital. That would make for some interesting applications, like letting subjects see how they look before you take a photo or showing live language translations on the rear display.
Google Lens may add translation and restaurant 'filters'
As clever as Google Lens can be, it's still quite limited in what it can do before it points you to another app. You might not have to lean on those other apps quite so often n the near future. In the wake of an initial discovery earlier in April, the 9to5Google team has spotted evidence that Lens could soon include a host of "filters" aimed at fulfilling specific augmented reality tasks. A "translate" filter, for instance, might auto-detect one language and offer to convert it to another instead of simply copying text and asking to launch Google Translate.
Google's iOS keyboard can translate text into more than 100 languages
If you use Google's iOS keyboard Gboard, you can now translate to and from all languages supported by Google Translate -- that's currently 103. This means you can effectively type and translate in any supported language, in any app on your iPhone. The feature is a welcome addition, but it's a bit overdue. Gboard has supported translation on Android since 2017.
