Most eyewear improves vision or cuts through solar glare, but a new gadget from Japan may soon sharpen linguistic skills and cut down language barriers instead, inventors have announced.
High-tech company NEC has come up with a device that it says will allow users to communicate with speakers of different languages.
Shaped like a pair of eye-glasses, but without the lenses, the computer-assisted Tele Scouter would use an imaging device to project almost real-time translations directly onto the user’s retina.
The text — provided instantly through voice recognition and translation programs — would effectively provide movie-like ‘subtitles’ during a conversation between two people wearing the glasses.
“You can keep the conversation flowing,” NEC market development official Takayuki Omino told AFP at a Tokyo exposition where the device was on display.
“This could also be used for talks involving confidential information,” dispensing with the need for a human translator, said Omino.
Each user’s spoken words would be picked up by a microphone, translated, and be instantly available for the counterpart in both visual text and as audio delivered through headphones.
Users can still see their conversation partner’s face because the text is projected onto only part of the retina — the first time such technology has been used in a commercial product, according to NEC.
The company plans to launch the Tele Scouter in Japan in November next year, although initially without the translation mode.
NEC says the device can have other uses aside from translation.
For example, it could be useful for salespeople if it is linked with a camera, face-recognition software and a store’s client database by instantly providing them with a customer’s purchase history.
“It’s best if you know the customer personally for individual sales pitches, but that can be difficult at big stores,” Omino said. “This device can be a weapon for salespeople on the floor.”
The model for sales staff and for translations is to be launched in 2011, Omino said.
A set intended for companies with 30 eyewear units would sell at 7.5 million yen (US$83,300), plus the cost of any customized software application. (AFP)
大部分的眼鏡是用來改善視力或遮擋刺眼的陽光，但日本一個新玩意兒的發明者表示，這項產品可以很快增進語言能力、克服語言障礙。
高科技公司「日本電氣株式會社」（NEC）表示，他們發明了一項新裝置，使用者將能利用該裝置和說不同語言的人溝通。
搭配電腦輔助的「Tele Scouter」，外形就像一副沒有鏡片的眼鏡，透過成像裝置，能在幾乎第一時間將翻譯直接投射到使用者的視網膜上。
翻譯文字──經過語音辨識和翻譯程式的即時翻譯──能有效地像電影「字幕」一樣，投射給配戴此眼鏡、交談中的兩人。
該裝置在東京一場展覽會上展出時，NEC市場開發部主管小美野孝之（音譯）對法新社說：「你可以保持對話的流暢性。」
小美野說，「這也可以用在談話內容涉及機密訊息時，」免去請人翻譯的不便。
使用者所說的話，會先經過麥克風收錄，翻譯後，以視覺文字和耳機傳送語音兩種形式，立即傳遞給對方。
使用者仍能看到交談者的面孔，因為文字只會投影在部份視網膜上，NEC表示，該技術是首次應用在商業產品上。
該產品計畫明年十一月正式在日本上市，不過一開始將不具備翻譯功能。
NEC表示，該裝置除了翻譯外還有別的功能。
例如，該裝置若連結攝影機、臉部辨識軟體和店家的顧客資料庫，店員就可以立即得知某位顧客的消費紀錄。
小美野說：「能了解顧客個人喜好，針對個人推銷是最好的，但這對大型商店來說不是件容易的事。這裝置是第一線銷售人員的利器。」
小美野說，滿足銷售人員和翻譯需求的機型將於二Ｏ一一年上市。
商用版一組中有三十副眼鏡，定價七百五十萬日圓（八萬三千三百美元），另可加購客製化的應用程式。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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