If you thought a Universal Translator was limited to Star Trek, Microsoft has news for you. The computing megacompany has revealed it has developed new technology for its Skype service which will enable near-instant translations of voice conversations between users worldwide.
After over a decade of research and development by Microsoft, a demo version of the Skype Translator was showcased at Microsoft’s Code Conference on May 27
The concept is simple in theory – an add-on program that will instantly translate voice and video calls between people speaking different languages – but not quite so simple to pull off in reality.
According to Microsoft, the software was developed in collaboration between its Skype and Translator teams. As Skype has over 300 million active monthly users (who between them chalk up over 2 billion minutes of video and voice chats daily), an easy-to-use automatic translation service would be a feature welcomed by many.
Improvements in speech recognition technology mean automatic translation is more accurate than ever before, opening up new possibilities in the areas of education and business, as well as keeping in touch with multilingual friends and family (and making new contacts all over the world).
The Code Conference demo featured English-to-German translations and vice versa, but Microsoft plans to expand the software to add more languages before it is available to the general public.
Although the product is still being developed, with plans for a Beta app release via Windows 8 at the end of the year, Microsoft hopes to launch its Skype Translator commercially within the next two and a half years.
The downside? Microsoft says it’s unlikely the translator will be offered for free to Skype users.
For now, it’s a matter of waiting to see if Microsoft will deliver on its promise of an end-of-year Beta version. Until then, social types can always use 'alternative' platforms such as the always-entertaining Chatroulette to bridge the communication gap – just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
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