If you are planning on traveling in the new year, you might want to download Google’s Translate app first. Even though the idea of a universal translator seems abstract, Google seems to be coming the closest with the release of their Google Translate application upgrade this month.
The upgrade is twofold, beginning with a voice tool using the microphone. The more seamless version of previous voice controls, the tool is designed to make it easier to “have something resembling a natural conversation with a person using a different language” to translate between the two languages. This means the app will pick up on the language you are speaking into the microphone, translate your phrase or question, and repeat it in the desired language.
The second upgraded tool is a visual translator. People can place signs or other text in front of their smartphone’s viewfinder, similar to taking a picture, and receive an instantaneous translation on their screen. This technology comes from the app Word Lens, developed by Quest Visual, the company acquired by Google last May.
Google is one of many companies attempting to fulfill the promise of translation technology. Since 2001 they have been doing some form of translation, bringing them to their current day app boasting 90 languages and around 500 million monthly users. To learn more about Translate, download the app today.
