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Google Is Working On A Real Time Translation Service

By February 7, 2020May 9th, 2022Technology News

Just about everyone has made use of Google Translate at one point or another. You find some text on a website written in a language you don’t understand, pop over to Google.com and within seconds, you know what the mystery text says.

It’s a great feature, but it’d be even better if Google had a “universal translator” that could translate speech from one language to another in real time.

That’s still the stuff of science fiction for the time being, but Google has recently made a giant step toward that goal. The company showed off a new feature that translates speech recorded on a smartphone into another language.

Google is pursuing a number of different apps that all converge at the same point. They are working on translating the spoken word from one language to another in real time.

So far, they’ve got this new functionality, which can translate recorded speech to another language. It is related to the Google Recording app on the Pixel 4, which can translate recorded speech from one language to another in something “close to real time.”

In addition to that, they’ve got an app called Live Transcribe, which is only available on Android devices and aimed specifically at the hearing-impaired.

There is a missing link that’s still needed to tie these various attempts together to create what amounts to a real time universal translator. The missing piece is a technology that can leverage the power of cloud processing to speed things along and capture and translate speech as it happens.

The bones of the AI that would be needed to drive the process is already on display in the various apps mentioned above. Google is moving quickly toward its ultimate goal. At this point, no one inside or outside of Google is talking about firm time frames for when that might happen, but rest assured, it will. Probably sooner than you think.

Chris Forte

Chris Forte, President and CEO of Olmec Systems, has been in the MSP workspace for the past 25 years. Chris earned his Master’s Degree from West Virginia University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He was a past member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a current member of the New Jersey Power Partners and Executive Association of New Jersey, where he has previously served on its board of directors. In his spare time, Chris enjoys traveling with his family. He also admits to being a struggling golfer and avid watcher of college football and basketball. He currently lives in Boonton Township, NJ with his wife, two daughters, son, and black lab Luna.