Skype Gets Star Trek Style Real-time Voice Translation

The first thing I saw today when I looked at my phone was an article about Skype getting a translator built into their video calling. I thought, “I’ve seen this before; Google does translations fairly well. I used to use Babel Fish for my Spanish assignments.” However, this translation service – though current only for Spanish and English – is done actively by voice within the Skype call. I immediately thought of the many scenes in Star Trek where they speak with an alien species and voices are translated both ways in real-time. Then I remembered the scene where Kirk is on trial in Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country and they have to wait briefly for the translation to occur. Microsoft’s Skype purchase may actually be paying off if this works well.

Here’s a demo of what a call could be like with Skype’s Translator:

Here’s their older video:

Source:
http://blogs.skype.com/2014/12/15/skype-translator-preview-an-exciting-journey-to-a-new-chapter-in-communication/

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Shane Paris

​Shane is the founder and Technical Editor-in-Chief here at That's It Guys. He enjoys Star Trek, 80s and 90s action movies, and everything tech related. Shane is highly skilled with computer hardware, software, and electronics.