Baidu's new gadget is a translator with Wi-Fi

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Language barriers can make Chinese travelling abroad tough. Although there are many phone apps that can help with the problem, slowness in the communication process can still cause inconvenience.

China’s tech giant Baidu is developing a portable translation device which can achieve instant translation from one language to another, Nikkei reports. Besides translating, the device can also work as a portable Wi-Fi router.

Targeting Chinese tourists traveling overseas, the device supports Chinese, Japanese and English, and is able to operate on mobile networks in 80 countries.

The round-shaped gadget decodes users’ words by accessing deep learning and other technologies via an internet connection.

The translator doesn’t have a name yet. Nikkei reported Baidu will launch the service first in China, focusing on people traveling abroad for vacations and business. The company might also introduce the 140-gram device to Japan in spring 2018.

Other gadgets that can achieve instant translation

Instant translator ili. /Photo via Logbar

Similar to Baidu’s new device, ili, developed by Logbar Inc. from Japan, can also translate in real-time.

The portable device supports English to Spanish, Japanese, or Mandarin. However, since it comes with only one language per device, users have to add more languages through updates.

The Japanese startup made ili an one-way device. “Two-way was difficult because of unnecessary back and forth miscommunication,” said Takuro Yoshida, CEO of Logbar.

The device can work without Wi-Fi, 3G, or any other internet connection.

Pilot earpieces. /Photo via Waverly Labs

For people who don’t want to talk with a machine in between of them, something wearable is ideal.

Pilot, a pair of translating earpieces that were created by the New York-based company Waverly Labs, can translate between users speaking different languages instantly.

The translation process occurs using speech recognition, machine translation and machine learning as well as speech synthesis technologies.

The company said that by sharing the earpieces with someone who speaks a different language, the gadget can provide simultaneous translations as one person speaks to the another.

Pilot can also be used for streaming music and answering phone calls, according to Waverly Labs.