Imagine a world without language barriers. A place where communicating through different languages would have no problem at all. Something that seems so out of reach may be here sooner than you think. Waverly Labs has designed a new piece of technology called “Pilot,” that translates languages through a wearable earpiece.
This little red earpiece (also available in other colors) allows one to understand foreign languages by translating what another individual is saying to him or her. It syncs to a specific smartphone app that is in use, deciphers the words being said, and automatically translates into one’s ear.
Since this product is fairly new, and set to release into the market in 2017, “Pilot” is only set to translate English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. Other languages will be developed and added in the future.
“Pilot” raised $3 million through an IndieGogo crowdfunding campaign because of its ever so popular campaign launch. The concept and promo video of this new technology created quite the buzz on several social media platforms. There were over 45 million views on Facebook, and a couple of those views have been of my own. I personally think “Pilot” is a really great way to cross the language barriers that currently exist, and help friends and family communicate with more ease in their daily lives. I cannot wait to see what else Waverly Labs comes up with to make this product even better.
Source: http://www.waverlylabs.com/
This “Pilot” technology seems like it would definitely have a huge benefit when it comes to helping people communicate who would normally have a hard time communicating with each other. However, I think it might be a bit odd to have a conversation with someone that has a third “person” that is there translating everything. It would definitely be an adjustment when this technology comes out to have a Bluetooth ear piece that is there translating everything. A concern that I have would be the accuracy of the translations especially because for every language there is not always a direct English translation for everything. Also it would be something that would be expensive to create if they would like to include more languages especially when there is so many different languages in the world. A question I have would be how would the creators decide which language they should include and which ones they should not include since there are so many different languages with different numbers of speakers and different number of locations where a specific language is spoken. Also it seems that it will only work between people that have the ear piece which would not be as useful since not many people will have this from the start and people may not be willing to purchase this ear piece so it would limit the use of this technology.
Source:
http://www.waverlylabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PRESS_PRESSKIT_AUGUST2016.pdf
I found this post very intriguing. I have been to countries where I only now bits and parts of phrases, making it really hard to communicate what you want or need. Pilot seems like an excellent fix to that problem. This product could be insanely useful for business men and woman who are constantly traveling. In addition it could be very helpful for students who are studying abroad trying to learn the native language. However, I have a few concerns with the product. First, in order for the product to work, it has to be connected to the app, which will need internet service for it to work. So if there is a bad connection, the product will not effectively work. In addition, if you are trying to use the product in a foreign country, gaining access to wireless internet can be very expensive and limited. Overall, I believe it is a great concept that could be very useful, but could be a hassle if the user is trying to use the Pilot in a foreign country.